Consana demonstrates the value of integrating clinical pharmacy services into the patient care team, both in terms of health outcomes and healthcare costs.

LSSI social workers and counselors provide community-based supports to patients through individual therapy, marriage/family counseling, skill building groups, and psychiatry in their Chicago, IL clinic. Consana partnered with this LSSI community-based counseling center to make evident the opportunity to achieve the three main goals of improving healthcare; to improve population health, to reduce per capita costs, and to improve both patient and provider experiences, by embedding a clinical pharmacist into the patient-focused team.

A clinical pharmacist met with each patient, and other members of the care team, to conduct an interactive comprehensive medication management (CMM) consultation. Following the interview, the clinical pharmacy team used treatment guidelines, evidence-based literature, and professional knowledge and experience to identify opportunities for improvement in the patient’s care plan.

Consana clinical pharmacists identified and addressed areas that necessitated intervention with the care team including; adverse drug event detection and prevention, change of medication or dose, unmet indication, unnecessary medication, need for medical follow-up or monitoring, and education, among others. An average of 10 recommendations were made per patient, which included 4.4 medication change recommendations and resulting in a possible cost avoidance of $2,192.12 per patient. Non-financial considerations include better patient outcomes, improved patient and provider satisfaction, improved care coordination, and improved or enhanced positioning for value-based reimbursement and patient-centered medical home certification. All stakeholders within this pilot will continue to benefit from the demonstrated value of CMM through decreased health care costs, and improved clinical outcomes and quality scores.

To learn more about the value of clinical pharmacy services Consana provides, contact us at info@consanahealth.com.