WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. was selected as one of 20 finalists for the 2011 URAC Awards for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection.
CVS Caremark said Thursday that its Pharmacy Advisor program was chosen by a panel of judges out of entries from across the country. URAC, the nation’s leading accreditation organization, will honor the finalists in October at its 12th Annual Quality Summit in Chicago.
Finalists are invited to present their winning programs at the Annual Quality Summit, which will showcase best practices in two categories: consumer decision-making and consumer health improvement.
"We are pleased that CVS Caremark and our Pharmacy Advisor program has been selected as a finalist by URAC," Per Lofberg, president of CVS Caremark’s pharmacy benefit management business, said in a statement. "Pharmacy Advisor is an example of our efforts to develop innovative programs that improve patient engagement, better manage chronic diseases like diabetes and help clients manage their health care costs."
According to CVS Caremark, Pharmacy Advisor was developed to help lower medical costs by improving medication adherence and closing gaps in care for diabetes. The solution, leveraging the company’s integrated pharmacy model, enhances care by providing members with brief, targeted and proactive consultations through PBM and retail channels. Members are engaged based on their expressed preferences and when they are most receptive to messages about their prescribed therapy — face-to-face when members choose to fill prescriptions at CVS/pharmacy, or by phone when members choose mail pharmacy. CVS Caremark noted that such an approach drives short- and long-term behavior change, leading to better clinical outcomes.
"URAC’s Annual Quality Summit provides a unique opportunity for leaders in health care to learn what premier companies are doing to advance consumer empowerment and protection," commented Alan Spielman, president and chief executive officer of URAC. "We are proud to honor CVS Caremark’s Pharmacy Advisor program. By sharing these best practices, we can work to inspire the industry as a whole to adopt proven practices that advance patient safety and empower consumers."
In February, CVS Caremark aand one of its PBM clients, steel company ArcelorMittal, received the 2011 Rx Benefit Innovation Award from the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI). The award recognized Pharmacy Advisor, which CVS Caremark piloted from late 2009 to early 2010 with ArcelorMittal in the United States.
