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NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED: Representatives of the University of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections display the 2009 Rx Benefit Awards given by the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute. From left are pharmacy students Brian Touhey and Matt Coty, Rita Marcoux, URI assistant professor of pharmacy research; Dr. Michael Poshkus, Department of Corrections medical director; E. Paul Larrat, associate dean of the URI College of Pharmacy; Joseph Marocco, associate director of Health Care Services for the Department of Corrections and Larry Myerson, the URI on-site pharmacy manager. URI Department of Communications and Marketing Photo by Michael Salerno<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 27, 2009 \u2013 A seven-year old program involving the University of Rhode Island\u2019s College of Pharmacy and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections has saved the correctional system $12 million in prescription medicine costs.
\nThe initiative, which has been in place since 2002, has reduced medication waste by nearly 75 percent and held the trend line on expenditures despite significant drug cost inflation and increases in the inmate population.
\nWhile such a successful enterprise is a source of pride for the University and the Department of Corrections, the management model also gained national praise. The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute presented a 2009 Rx Benefit Award to URI and the Department of Corrections for its new Collaborative Management Model.
\nIt is the first time the institute has honored a collaboration involving a university or college and a state agency. Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the institute provides research, education, and publication services to help health care benefit executives work with pharmacy benefit managers and other pharmacy professionals to design prescription drug benefit programs.
\nIn its award announcement, the institute said URI\u2019s pharmacy college and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections \u201care pioneering a new higher education\/state agency management model.\u201d
\nThe College\u2019s Healthcare Utilization Management Center, which is directed by E. Paul Larrat<\/a>, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy and Rita Marcoux, assistant professor of pharmacy research, and the corrections department\u2019s medical staff, manage pharmacy services at the Department of Corrections.
\nURI\u2019s College of Pharmacy provides an on-site pharmacy manager, Larry Myerson, and extensive data analysis, reporting, clinical support and management resources. Pharmacy students assist with much of the data analysis.
\nFollowing a competitive bidding process, the Department of Corrections awarded URI\u2019s College of Pharmacy a three-year, $454,000 contract in 2002 to manage its pharmacy program. The two organizations are now in the midst of a four-year, $682,000 contract.
\nThe prison system\u2019s daily population averages 3,800 inmates, while its intake center processes approximately 18,000 individuals per year. The Department of Corrections\u2019 medication costs, based on pharmaceutical trend data, had been projected to be $13.7M from 2003 through 2006, but its actual costs were $8.8 million thanks to the collaboration with URI. The total overall savings have climbed to $12 million as the program has matured, according to Larrat.
\n\u201cOur 2009 award recipients have differentiated themselves from industry norms with creative new approaches,\u201d said Dana H. Felthouse, president of the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute. \u201cAnother hallmark of the winners is a passion for collaboration among stakeholders. The solutions are programs that demonstrate success in improving pharmaceutical health care, as well as curbing costs.\u201d
\nDr. Michael Poshkus, Department of Corrections medical director, said his agency relies on Larrat, Marcoux, and URI pharmacy students for medication quality review.
\n\u201cThey are a vital aspect to our program,\u201d Poshkus said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a very valuable resource for us, having Rita and Paul accessible whenever we have a question about ordering medications and what would be the most cost-effective means to provide pharmaceuticals to our patient population. Also, having the students available is particularly helpful. Their projects involve reviewing our utilization of different drugs and helping us come up with protocols that allow us to better utilize medications for our populations.
\n\u201cWe rely on the University to help us do quality assurance programs, review the use of our medications, the appropriate use of medication, and review any medical errors that may have occurred,\u201d Poshkus said.
\nJoseph Marocco, associate director of Health Care Services for the Department of Corrections, said because of the work of Larrat and Marcoux, his department\u2019s relationship with the state Board of Pharmacy has improved.
\n\u201cRita and Paul have been responsible for helping the Board of Pharmacy understand the complexities of correctional pharmacy care. It\u2019s not a nursing home; it\u2019s not a hospital; it\u2019s not an ambulatory care center. It\u2019s a little bit of everything.\u201d
\nLarrat said it is unusual to apply pharmacy benefit management strategies to a unique group like the Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n
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