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Hospitals can reduce care costs by using more oral medications
Switching patients from intravenous drugs to pill forms of the same drugs could safely save millions
NATIONAL REPORTS-Switching hospitalized patients able to take medication by mouth from intravenous drugs to pill forms of the same drugs could safely save millions of dollars a year, according to new Johns Hopkins research.
In a review of computerized records for the year 2010, conducted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, researchers estimated savings of more than $1.1 million in the hospital's Department of Medicine alone-not including surgical patients-by swapping out four commonly prescribed IV medications with their oral equivalents.
"We found that the majority of hospital inpatients receiving any of four commonly prescribed IV medications, each of which has a far less expensive oral equivalent, were potentially eligible to receive oral medication," according to investigator and study lead author Brandyn D. Lau, MD, medical informatician at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "Assuming that all patients were indeed eligible for the equivalent oral medication, the use of IV medication contributes to more than $1.16 million in medication acquisition cost alone."
By developing an electronic reminder in the CPOE that alerts the prescriber of potential clinical eligibility for oral medication, "there may be a reduction in the use of IV medication, the cost of acquiring and administering IV medication, and adverse events such as IV-associated bloodstream infection," he says. "Health IT, in the form of electronic medical records, CPOE and clinical decision support systems, and its meaningful use is a national priority. These are tools that are being adopted by hospitals across the country."
The study is one example of the potential impact that health IT could have on cost and quality improvement.
Jack Linehan of Epstein Becker Green Discusses Drug Coupons, Accumulators
July 9th 2020In this week's episode of Tuning Into The C-Suite podcast, Senior Editor Peter Wehrwein has a conversation with John "Jack" Linehan, a lawyer for Epstein Becker Green, about coupons and accumulators. Jack is an expert on drug distribution and reimbursement, and few people know as much about coupons and accumulators as he does. Peter and Jack go over some of the basics, who is advantaged and disadvantaged, and then dive into some the details on CMS regulations and how recent proposed changes to Medicaid best price rules would, if finalized, affect coupons and accumulators.
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In this second part of a video series, AMCP CEO Susan Cantrell addressed the impact of high prescription drug prices on underserved communities, highlighting disparities in access caused by the pandemic's effects on minority populations. On the industry blame debate, she urged collaborative solutions, mentioning AMCP's engagement with diverse stakeholders to find comprehensive, patient-centric solutions and advocate for policy changes like the MVP Act to address rising costs and access challenges.
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HHS Needs More Rebate Information To Negotiate Medicare Drug Prices, Say USC Experts
February 19th 2024The Health and Human Services department could wind up overpaying (or possibly underpaying) for the drugs for which it is negotiating a “maximum fair price” for Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act, argue experts at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. A fuller picture of rebates and net prices could help that from happening, they say.
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