SCAN Health Plan and Express Scripts to Conduct Capitol Hill Briefing on Innovative Quality Network Program Designed to Improve Senior Care
LONG BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SCAN Health Plan and Express Scripts will present a Capitol Hill
briefing on an innovative pharmacy network program designed to enhance
the patient experience, improve medication adherence and increase
quality of care. The presentation will be held on October 20 in the
Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Moderating the session
will be Tom Scully, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS).
SCAN and Express Scripts are currently partnering in a Quality Network
Program to encourage and reward pharmacists to take an active role in
interacting with Medicare patients. Evidence has shown that an enhanced
patient/pharmacist relationship can have a positive impact on medication
adherence which can, in turn, improve health outcomes, particularly for
those Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, high blood pressure or high
cholesterol.
“Pharmacists are one of the most trusted of all healthcare
professionals, and their frequent interactions with our members present
enormous opportunities to positively impact patient health,” said Sharon
Jhawar, vice president of pharmacy services at SCAN and one of the
co-presenters on October 20. “This Quality Network Program has shown
that pharmacists who take a more active role can make a real impact in
the health and lives of seniors.”
This Capitol Hill briefing is one of many in which SCAN has participated
throughout the years in advocating for smarter, more cost-effective and
more quality-focused healthcare for seniors. Co-presenting with Jhawar
will be Snezana Mahon, senior director of Medicare for Express Scripts.
The day before the Congressional briefing, Jhawar and Mahon will present
this innovative program at the National Conference on Medicare and
Medicaid, sponsored by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
Under the program Express Scripts works collaboratively with each
individual pharmacy to review and improve their patients’ performance in
five key areas: reducing the use of high-risk medications; compliance
with diabetes treatment guidelines (use of high blood pressure therapy
in diabetes patients); and greater adherence to diabetes, high blood
pressure and high cholesterol medications. Top-performing and improved
pharmacies will receive incentives, while average or poorly performing
pharmacies will receive lower overall reimbursements.
“In a time of higher performance expectations, this program is a
wonderful example of an effective, outcomes-based strategy that aligns
all parties in a patient’s pharmacy care,” said Jhawar. “By encouraging
this interaction and education for our members, this program perfectly
supports our mission and commitment to keeping seniors healthy and
independent.”
SCAN is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage
plans currently serving approximately 170,000 members in California and
Arizona. Further information may be obtained at scanhealthplan.com
or on Facebook at facebook.com/scanhealthplan.
Express Scripts manages more than a billion prescriptions each year for
tens of millions of patients and provides integrated pharmacy-benefit
management services, including network-pharmacy claims processing, home
delivery, specialty benefit management, benefit-design consultation,
drug-utilization review, formulary management, and medical and drug data
analysis services. The company also distributes a full range of
biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management and
patient-care services. For more information, visit Lab.Express-Scripts.com
or follow @ExpressScripts
on Twitter.
Y0057_SCAN_9491_2015 IA 10132015
Contacts
for SCAN Health Plan
Ross Goldberg, 818-597-8453
ross@kevinross.net
