While there are many similarities between retail pharmacies and other retail businesses, two key factors provide a unique opportunity to improve operations and financial efficiency, in turn enabling better patient outcomes. The ability to develop close relationships with other players in the health care industry value chain, and the opportunity to utilize relevant data in
WASHINGTON — Accountable care organizations (ACOs) face a major hurdle under a ruling by the Internal Revenue Service. ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, possibly including pharmacists, who voluntarily come together to give coordinated high-quality care. The goal is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right
Recently, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced a lofty goal of tying 50% of all traditional Medicare payments to alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs) or bundled payment arrangements, by the year 2018. In announcing these ambitious goals, Burwell stated, “Whether you are a patient, a provider, a
WASHINGTON — Pharmacists can perform a pivotal role in ensuring the optimal use of pharmaceuticals and improving patient outcomes in accountable care organizations (ACOs), concludes a case study published in the December issue of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy. The report, “Best Practices: Improving Patient Outcomes and Costs in an ACO Through
