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Thrifty White's med sync program gains ground among patients, payers
In terms of boosting medication adherence and prescription volumes, the benefits of consolidating all of a patient7 s prescriptions into a single, once-a-month refill process are even greater than previously thought.
That's the conclusion of a new study from Thrifty White Pharmacy and its research partner, pharmacy technology provider Ateb. The study served as a follow-up to earlier research conducted last year by Virginia Commonwealth University into the Maple Grove, Minn.-based drug chain's industry-leading medication synchronization program, which has enrolled more than 30,000 Thrifty White customers and served as something of a launching pad for other pharmacy-based clinical care services by the 87-store provider.
Both studies demonstrated "significant improvements in adherence and persistence for med sync patients when compared to control patients for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and additional ... disease states," Thrifty White reported in early September. "Furthermore, the analysis shows that increased adherence results in lower medical expenditures."
What7 s more, the newest research showed that med sync7s benefits continue to build as the program matures. That study tracked the results of Thrifty White's campaign to convert patients on multiple chronic medications to a synchronized refill system for the 12-month period ended Aug. 13, 2013. It showed accelerating rates of adherence among participants, and significant declines in overall healthcare costs for patients with three conditions: hypertension, diabetes and high lev- els of cholesterol.
The chain has already enrolled some 30,000 patients in its med sync program, "and it grows between 250 and 350 people a week," said Thrifty White president and CEO Bob Narveson.
The concept is basic but effective. It's about "simplifying the refill process ... by synchronizing all of a patient's maintenance medications to come due on a single day of the month," Thrifty White reports. The result, the company notes, is that "patients are more likely to remain adherent with their prescribed medication regimen."
The appointment-based program spawns multiple benefits, Narveson said. "It increases medication persistency, decreases the gaps in therapy, increases the pick-up of new therapy fills, provides a higher level of patient care, and increases patient and pharmacist satisfaction," he noted recently. By encouraging patients to review their medication regimens with their Thrifty White pharmacist at refill...