Care Management International Unveils Smart Sourced Prescription Switch Program

HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Care Management International, Inc., the market innovator in medical management and clinical services smart sourcing, today announced the commercialization of its Rx Switch Program. The Rx Switch Program is designed to provide health care members with information and education about the cost of their prescriptions, thereby saving money for them and the health care system in general.

Care Management International’s smart-sourced Rx Switch Program provides health plans with cost-effective member intervention. The company’s highly trained staff contacts members by phone to educate them about clinically appropriate, less expensive medicines. Members have the option of speaking to a pharmacist to answer their questions about drug safety and efficacy. Current interventions such as educational mailings or redeemable co-pay waivers, which have shown modest progress, do not engage members directly.

Using a smart-sourced approach, Care Management International also captures valuable feedback so that health plans can better understand members’ barriers to switching.

According to industry research, more than $100 billion in brand drugs will come off patent from 2006 to 2010. This represents a tremendous opportunity for insurers and consumers to save millions of dollars through greater use of generic medications¹. In order to accomplish this goal, consumers must be supported with comprehensive education on the availability, cost and efficacy of generic drugs.

“Studies have shown that switching from brand to generic medicines has had a positive impact on the U.S. healthcare system by driving down overall healthcare costs,” said Minalkumar Patel MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of Care Management International. “Our program realizes cost savings more rapidly and with greater certainty, by placing the right resource at the right cost structure. Our approach helps improve outcomes, innovate in essential clinical areas and improve the quality of care experienced by consumers.

“Additionally, under the right conditions, Care Management International can offer the program as a shared-savings model so that the cost of the program will be exclusively covered by direct savings generated from our activity,” Patel added.

The program’s high-touch contact with members distinguishes it from other Rx switching programs that rely exclusively on computer outbound calling or education through costly mail campaigns. This includes:

• Outreach to a defined population of members about the availability and efficacy of generic or therapeutically equivalent medications;
• Collecting information about why a member either hasn’t switched to a generic or who has switched back to a brand;
• Providing analysis surrounding clinical and economic impact of the switch from brand-name to generic equivalent medication; and
• Understanding the barriers that limit a member’s medication compliance and facilitate the switch by connecting interested members to their local pharmacy.

About Care Management International

Care Management International provides a full range of care management support services for healthcare companies seeking to improve outcomes, enhance quality, optimize operational performance and lower costs. Large national and regional healthcare companies turn to Care Management International for smart sourcing, the innovative application of customized clinical programs. Smart sourcing amplifies the efforts of client clinical staff through utilization of globally resourced, highly-trained talent and technologies that save time and allow for around-the-clock staffing flexibility. Care Management International empowers healthcare clients to retain ownership and control of their care management competencies supporting the delivery of quality medical care. Headquartered in Hoboken, NJ, Care Management International can be reached at (201) 420-6686 or via the Internet at www.caremanagementinternational.com.

¹ Generic Pharmaceutical Organization: www.gphaonline.org.