Prescription Solutions Wins URAC Best Practices Award in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection

  • Awarded for innovative member outreach program that improves outcomes, reduces costs
  • One of only two platinum awards presented – and the only one given to a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) organization and a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, received a platinum award in the URAC Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards. Prescription Solutions was recognized for its Multiple Sclerosis Disease Therapy Management (MS DTM) program, which empowers patients through education and support to successfully attain skills in self-managing their symptoms and medication therapy for their chronic condition.

Prescription Solutions' Brian Solow, M.D., vice president, senior medical director for Clinical Serv ...

Prescription Solutions' Brian Solow, M.D., vice president, senior medical director for Clinical Services (left), and John D. Jones, R.Ph., J.D., senior vice president, Government Affairs and Pharmacy Policy, with URAC's Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Platinum Award. (Photo: Business Wire)

At the URAC annual conference in Chicago last week, the award finalists presented their model programs to attendees so these best practices can be duplicated in communities across the country. Prescriptions Solutions was represented at the conference by Brian Solow, M.D., vice-president, senior medical director for Clinical Services.

“Because of the recurring, disabling and potentially progressive nature of the disease, outreach efforts like our MS DTM program are crucial for patients with MS,” said Joseph Addiego, M.D., chief medical officer, Prescription Solutions. “Our nurses and pharmacists work closely with patients to help them with symptom management, medication adherence and a health-promoting lifestyle.”

The URAC awards are designed to recognize innovative leadership and successful programs in consumer-focused health care management. Judging was conducted by a distinguished, 28-member panel that included the best and most widely recognized experts in program evaluation, care coordination, health information technology, employer and purchaser decision making, and patient safety. Entries were reviewed and scored by the judges based on objective criteria.

The MS DTM program, the only PBM program to win a Platinum Award, was recognized for its ability to measurably demonstrate an impact on consumer empowerment and protection, specifically in the consumer decision-making category, and its potential for widespread implementation by other organizations.

MS DTM program goals include:

  • increasing patients’ knowledge of their medical condition, treatment options and overall management of their health;
  • maximizing therapeutic outcomes by promoting medication adherence and persistence and reducing the risk of side effects;
  • enhancing patients’ quality of life.

The Prescription Solutions MS/DTM program was evaluated in a seven-month study of 283 patients with MS. In addition to highly significant patient satisfaction and acceptance, the study found increased adherence to injectable MS medications that reduced relapses by 33.6 percent. This relapse reduction is estimated to potentially save $612 per patient participating in the DTM program.

A complete list of Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Award winners may be found at www.urac.org.

About URAC

URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, is well-known as a leader in promoting health care quality through its accreditation, education and measurement programs. URAC offers a wide range of quality benchmarking programs and services that keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a symbol of excellence for organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in establishing meaningful quality measures for the entire health care industry. For more information, visit www.urac.org.

About Prescription Solutions

Prescription Solutions is an innovative pharmacy benefit management company managing the prescription drug benefit of commercial, Medicare and other governmental health plans, as well as those of employers and unions. A UnitedHealth Group company, Prescription Solutions serves customers through a national network of 64,000 community pharmacies and state-of-the-art mail service pharmacies in Carlsbad, Calif., and Overland Park, Kan., both of which have earned the prestigious Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ (VIPPS®) accreditation by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®). Prescription Solutions also won two Silver Awards for URAC’s Best Practices for Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards – Geriatric RxMonitor Program (2008) and the Drug Interaction Alert Program (2009). Additional information can be found at www.prescriptionsolutions.com.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (www.unitedhealthgroup.com) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making health care work better. With headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of health benefit programs through UnitedHealthcare, Ovations and AmeriChoice, and health services through Ingenix, OptumHealth and Prescription Solutions. Through its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 75 million individuals worldwide.

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CONTACT:

Prescription Solutions
David Himmel, 714-226-3772
[email protected]

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Prescription Solutions' Brian Solow, M.D., vice president, senior medical director for Clinical Services (left), and John D. Jones, R.Ph., J.D., senior vice president, Government Affairs and Pharmacy Policy, with URAC's Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Platinum Award. (Photo: Business Wire)