TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. has partnered with insurer Great-West Life to provide a pair of new chronic disease management programs.
The companies said Wednesday that under the agreement, participating Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacists will offer eligible Great-West Life plan members a diabetes support program and a medication counseling program for specific maintenance drugs.
Plans call for the diabetes support program to include A1C testing, medication therapy recommendations and lifestyle management counseling. According to the companies, the program was developed to provide Great-West Life plan members with diabetes the opportunity to connect with Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacists trained in diabetes management. Members also will have access to more than 450 Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacists who are certified diabetes educators.
Meanwhile, the medication counseling program is designed to foster medication cost awareness among plan members as well as spur medication adherence for better health outcomes, while lowering drug plan costs to the plan sponsor.
Both health support programs are multiyear and are intended to be long-term, the companies said, noting that they build on the pharmaceutical knowledge and counseling expertise of Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacists.
"This agreement demonstrates and accelerates the expanded role that pharmacists perform in helping patients better manage their health and utilizes pharmacists’ knowledge and trusted patient relationships," Dorian Lo, executive vice president of pharmacy and health care at Shoppers Drug Mart, said in a statement. "Through this agreement, we are furthering our commitment to help payers improve the health of their plan members, while also effectively managing rising health care costs."
The diabetes support program will initially be made available to about 120,000 Great-West Life plan members, and the medication counseling program will be offered to approximately 15,000 Great-West Life plan members.
"We know plan members want more support from their employer and plan provider than simply paying their claims. Increasingly, what they’re asking for is help in managing their health, and that is not accomplished through medications alone," stated Brad Fedorchuk, vice president of group marketing for Great-West Life. "Great-West Life recognizes the value Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacists can bring and the role of pharmacists in supporting positive health outcomes on behalf of plan members and plan sponsors. As Canada’s largest pharmacy chain, Shoppers Drug Mart is able to deliver these health support programs on a national basis. The Shoppers Drug Mart store network, which is open and accessible seven days a week, including more than 1,125 participating pharmacies, offers more potential points of access than any other pharmacy services provider in the country."
