LINCOLN, R.I., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- PharmaCare, one of the nation's leading prescription benefit managers (PBMs), announced today that its patient-centric programs and cost-saving solutions have helped clients of ADVANTAGE Health Solutions, Inc. one of Indiana's fastest growing managed care organizations (MCO), beat the annual industry inflation rate by approximately 30 percent.
Since PharmaCare began serving as ADVANTAGE's PBM in 2001, ADVANTAGE's generic utilization, mail service utilization, and generic substitution rates have increased significantly. In the first quarter of 2004, ADVANTAGE's generic utilization rose to almost 52 percent -- up from 48 percent in 2003 -- and the company had a generic compliance rate of 93 percent.
For every 1000 members that switch from brand drugs to generics, ADVANTAGE clients save $3.00 per member, per month. ADVANTAGE credits PharmaCare with these savings. "PharmaCare's suite of cost-containment programs has really helped ADVANTAGE's patients comply with our generic-centered formulary," said Vicki Perry, ADVANTAGE's President and CEO.
Central to these programs is PharmaCare's tool kit that contains offerings designed to boost generic utilization like PatientALERT(TM) and GENesis TM. With PatientALERT, when a member fills a prescription for a brand drug that has a generic equivalent, PharmaCare sends a letter directly to the member providing information on the lower-cost generic drug. The GENesis TM program educates members about cost-effective generic equivalents of the brand prescriptions they are currently taking.
ADVANTAGE uses PharmaCare's tool kit as a selling medium. "PharmaCare's tool kit is very marketable to our clients and strongly demonstrates ways to control costs, educate members and improve outcomes," said Ms. Perry.
Coupled with PharmaCare's patient-centric programs, ADVANTAGE's innovative disease management programs empower and educate members with chronic conditions such as diabetes, depression, hypertension and congestive heart failure to better manage their diseases. Not only do these programs improve members' quality of care, but they also help reduce the number of prescriptions members need in a year -- an average of one less per year.
Complementing some of PharmaCare's programs, ADVANTAGE is piloting an initiative that offers members participating in certain disease management regimens reduced copayments for relevant medications. Early results demonstrate that this positive incentive is increasing members' voluntary participation in chronic disease management interventions.
When asked why PharmaCare and ADVANTAGE's relationship has been so successful, Ms. Perry said, "PharmaCare has been our true partner in collaborating with us on good solutions for our clients and members. PharmaCare always manages to find a way to solve challenging problems."
PharmaCare's broad product offerings are focused on high quality, low-cost solutions for its clients. Greg Weishar, PharmaCare's President and CEO said, "PharmaCare's client relationships are based on integrity, trust and commitment. Our partnership with ADVANTAGE is just one example of our commitment to delivering promised savings that clients appreciate."
About ADVANTAGE
ADVANTAGE Health Solutions, Inc. is a Managed Care Organization offering commercial HMO and POS products along with the most recent Medicare PPO product, ADVANTAGE Preferred Plus. Founded by four Catholic health care systems: Ascension Health, Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc. Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Inc., Ancilla Health Systems, Inc., ADVANTAGE was rolled out as a separate entity in 1999 from Sagamore Health Network (formed in 1995) Since inception, ADVANTAGE has achieved significant milestones and is one of the fastest growing Managed Care Organizations in Indiana.
About PharmaCare
PharmaCare is one of the largest pharmaceutical benefit management companies in the country. PharmaCare helps large employers, managed care organizations, insurance companies, unions and government agencies make safe, cost effective drug decisions for over 30 million Americans. The company's comprehensive PBM services include fully integrated state-of-the art mail- service pharmacies and the largest specialty operation in the country. PharmaCare fills prescriptions at more than 56,800 retail pharmacies, located in all 50 states, and in nearly every city. PharmaCare is a wholly owned subsidiary of CVS Corporation.
On July 31st, 2004, PharmaCare completed the acquisition of EHS, a leading PBM with expertise in servicing large employers. EHS is also a pioneer of mail-service pharmacy. With this combined scale, PharmaCare is well positioned to offer broad health care products and services that help control drug spend and improve quality of care.
Contact: Kim Keough 401-521-2700 kkeough@rdwgroup.com Lisa Bowen 401-334-0069 lmbowen@pharmacare.com
PharmaCareCONTACT: Kim Keough, +1-401-521-2700, kkeough@rdwgroup.com, or LisaBowen, +1-401-334-0069, lmbowen@pharmacare.com, both for PharmaCare