Time, info drive Medicare Part D adoption

Pharmacists are among the most trusted health care professionals in the community, and Medicare beneficiaries logically will turn to their local pharmacist for information about how they can get real help from Medicare's new coverage. Estimates show that tens of millions of Medicare beneficiaries will enroll in Medicare drug plans in the initial months of the drug benefit, and many of these beneficiaries will look to their community pharmacists for help.

To prepare for the changes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is taking steps to maximize the effectiveness of these interactions. However, CMS is aware that two primary barriers stand in the way to providing practical, personalized assistance that seniors expect from pharmacists: time and information.

Responding to this need, CMS is using the Medicare law to make fundamental changes to recognize and support the essential role pharmacists play in the health and well-being of America's seniors. These changes will save pharmacists time--time that is better spent with patients. And these changes will give pharmacists the information necessary to educate beneficiaries in a form that is easy to use within the constraints of a busy pharmacy.

One significant change is the development of a new coordination of Benefits system. Building upon existing pharmacy technology, this system will play a critical role in the electronic exchange of information between CMS and payers to ensure that beneficiaries get all their available coverage when out-of-pocket costs are charged at the pharmacy. This coordination of benefits system will help smooth the transition for beneficiaries and avoid extra time and effort for pharmacies, with the opportunity for some of the productivity gain in pharmacies to be invested in time spent helping beneficiaries get the most out of the benefit.

Of course, CMS also is developing a comprehensive outreach campaign for pharmacists with detailed and consistent information about the drug benefit. In particular, CMS is working closely with pharmacy stakeholders, including National Association of Chain Drug Stores members, to advance pharmacy practice by ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries understand the prescription drug benefit and emphasizing the key role of pharmacists as a source of information and support for their Medicare patients. Working together, CMS and our pharmacy partners can make sure that this collaborative educational program will help both the pharmacists in their relationships with patients and the Medicare program by empowering pharmacist providers to help beneficiaries get the most out of the drug benefit.

Make no mistake, these are truly fundamental changes in the way Medicare does business. And we know that they will not work without the support and involvement of pharmacists, who have long embraced consumer-focused health care. Using the full force of our resources, I am confident that, together, we will succeed in bringing modern health care and comprehensive drug coverage to every beneficiary of Medicare.

Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., is administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group