Pharmacy Friends

A Power of People edition.

In today’s episode, Many Voices, One Purpose, you'll find out the true power of people and how Prime is an organization that continues to commit to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Our host Laura Spitzack, talks with Zabrina Watkins, Melissa Strong and Pat Milligan, about how we unite through common values to find our path, keep growing and fundamentally strengthen our culture and the value we bring to all our partners and the communities we are privileged to serve.

You'll discover the true meaning behind "radical welcomeness," as they explore topics related to our DEI Council, Corporate Social responsibility and what’s on the horizon. You will also hear how we unite as one culture, with one purpose, and foster partnerships to collectively craft a better, more equitable and inclusive future for our employees and the people we serve.

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The mission of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy is to enhance the quality and affordability of health care. Prime is likewise focused on this same mission, which is even more crucial when you consider a key category driving health care spend today are specialty drugs, which are typically injections or infusions that are self-administered or administered by health care professionals.  We caught up with Kristen Reimers, clinical pharmacist and senior vice president, Specialty Clinical Solutions at Prime, to talk about some of the education sessions at AMCP that touch on this important business segment.

We’re about to hear about an award-winning research study. Recently, a number of generic multiple sclerosis medications supported by the American Academy of Neurology have become more widely available. Managed care pharmacists can aid individuals in transitioning to generic therapies, reducing total drug spend and member cost. But just how successful can this transition be? Prime researchers took a closer look, and Nick Friedlander, clinical program pharmacist with Prime, explains how transition may lead to remarkable savings and improved health outcomes.

A key aspect of what AMCP seeks to achieve is improved access to care, and our next study looks closely at the factors that may impact that access. Social determinants of health are the conditions in a person’s environment that affect health, function, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. These factors contribute to as much as 80% of variation in health outcomes. In this segment, Kyle Thompson, data scientist principal with Prime, talks about how the development of a Medicare member-specific medication nonadherence risk score, related to social determinants of health, can improve how a member manages medication and adheres to their doctors prescription. 

Nothing might matter more than getting new talented and bright pharmacists in our door to get hands-on experience of specialty and medical drug management from a managed care perspective. YuQian Liu, Senior Director of Clinical Account Services, talks about how our ASHP accredited residency program allows people interested in managed care pharmacy to build their careers. She talks about the importance of developing a firsthand understanding of medical and pharmacy benefit integration and strategy. And touches on the skills and mindset needed that helps kick-start careers as a managed care pharmacist. 

We are fortunate to have Susan Cantrell, AMCP CEO, join us for a conversation on what this show means and how it continues to have an impact on the health care industry. 

This year marks the second AMCP Annual meeting where Prime has showed up as one organization. But what does it mean for our business to show up at a crucial trade event like this? We are joined by two of our leaders responsible for putting our best foot forward at AMCP Annual, Pat Gleason, Assistant Vice President of Health Outcomes, and David Eckwright, Senior Director of Clinical Project and Program Management, to tell us more.  

Four of the Prime studies presented at AMCP relate to glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist – or GLP-1 – drugs. Earlier analysis of real-world data showed low adherence and increased cost of care for individuals in the first year of GLP-1 therapy. Prime has been a leader in GLP-1 insights, and three studies at AMCP take a fresh look at the GLP-1 data as it relates to weight loss. We have Ben Urick, Health Outcomes Reseach Senior Principal from Prime, here to walk us through the research.

Cancer care represents a rapidly rising and disproportionate share of overall health care spend. Medically integrated dispensing has been associated with better outcomes, lower waste and better patient care experiences for members receiving. Recognizing this value, payers have developed integrated dispensing networks to supplement traditional dispensing sites; however, little information is available comparing total cost of care. During this conversation with Landon Marshall, health outcomes research principal at Prime, we take a closer look at the AMCP study, Medically Integrated Dispensing of Oral Oncolytics: Real-World Cost of Care Comparison to Traditional Dispensing. 

Leading researchers from Prime Therapeutics are at the show, and we talk with these health care experts from our Clinical and Health Outcomes teams who are using integrated medical and pharmacy claims data to evaluate real-world drug utilization, managed care pharmacy programs, and associated costs of care for a range of conditions, including weight loss, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. 

And, in the spirit of our host city, we have a little fun with our guests and see how much they know about “The Big Easy.” 

We even had a drop in visit from Susan Cantrell, AMCP CEO, who talked with us about how AMCP is on the forefront of pharmacy trends, but also how the organization seeks to improve access to care and reduce costs, particularly as health care trends show that the pharmacy benefit is becoming more expensive. 

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