Physician Proponent: Prescription Solutions' Brian Solow, MD, talks physician-PBM relationship
The relationship between physicians and pharmacy benefit managers continues to change. A goal of Prescription Solutions' Brian Solow, MD, is to foster a collaborative approach to working with physicians, to ultimately deliver better care to patients.
During his tenure with Bristol Park Medical Group, a physician-owned primary care group in Irvine, he participated on multiple leadership committees while maintaining a family medicine practice. Over the years, Dr. Solow has gained knowledge of the PBM industry as a member of the national pharmacy and therapeutics committees of various PBMs.
"I reach out to doctors and find out how we can become their partners and not interfere with their practices," Dr. Solow says. "We need them to recognize the true value of the PBM because a lot of physicians just see PBMs as another piece of the insurance puzzle. We know we can target the consumer, and the consumer can target the doctor. If we can get both parties onboard, we'll have better success implementing medi cation therapy management [MTM] and other clinical programs."
Q. What is your biggest challenge with managing pharmaceutical benefits?
We want them to understand that we are not trying to limit their utilization of medications, nor are we trying to limit choices, but rather are promoting the appropriateness of their prescription medications with a focus on the clinical quality. It's important that all stakeholders in the healthcare system work together to help patients lead healthy, productive lives.