Considering Medication Adherence During Medicare Open Enrollment
The open enrollment period for Medicare 2022 began on October 15 and ends on December 7. Any patients who are just turning 65 or those who are looking to change plans may look to you as a pharmacist and trusted healthcare provider to make important decisions, especially when it comes to Medicare Part D open enrollment.
Pharmacists are not allowed to recommend any particular plan to the patient, however pharmacists can help patients interpret plan options including covered medications and out-of-pocket expenses. Spending this one-on-one time with your patient gives your pharmacy the opportunity to discuss solutions that can set them up for success in the next stage of their life. Having these important conversations can not only benefit the patient, it can also benefit your pharmacy.
Why is Medication Adherence in the Medicare patient population important for the future of your pharmacy business?
More and more third party contracts have financial implications linked to pharmacy quality measures and star ratings. Three core quality measures used frequently in payer programs are Diabetes PDC, Cholesterol PDC, and RASA PDC. These measures report how well your patients are adhering to their medications and determine things like DIR fee rates and pay-for-performance opportunities. Monitoring and improving these scores will positively impact your bottom line.
More information about the 3 Adherence Measures and how PDC scores are calculated are referenced below.
Why is it important to start patients who are new to Medicare on a medication adherence program?
As your patients enter the next phase of their life, it is important for them to have management tools that will help them adhere to the treatment plan prescribed by their physician. As a Medicare Part D member who utilizes your pharmacy, their adherence rate on certain types of medications (specifically those indicated above) can impact your pharmacy’s quality measures and will ultimately impact your bottom line.
How can Medicine-On-Time help?
MOT Complete, one of the core products offered by Medicine-On-Time is proven to increase patient PDC scores for low performing patients on average by over 30%. We also offer two programs that will support your pharmacy’s efforts to improve pharmacy quality measures. Our Performance Program will help you identify and monitor outlier patients that are negatively impacting your pharmacy, and our team will help you turn it into revenue for your pharmacy through lowered DIR fees and maximized pay-for-performance opportunities. Medicine-On-Time also offers marketing services which includes promotional and educational materials that can be used to show patients the value of your adherence solution.
Want more information?
If you have any questions about Medicine-On-Times products and services, or if you would like to become a Medicine-On-Time pharmacy, contact us at info@medicineontime.com.