Correctional pharmacies provide essential care for inmates that upholds their rights to access medication and healthcare. In serving this function, pharmacies must also balance the operational challenges of managing drug purchasing, healthcare coverage, and formulary adherence.
This article explores the key pain points of correctional pharmacies and outlines how effective formulary management can help reduce the impact of increasing drug prices while supporting care outcomes and operations.
Challenges In Correctional Environments
Correctional environments are inherently complex. Inmate populations continuously fluctuate due to transfers, releases, and new admissions, presenting a substantial challenge for consistent pharmacy management. Incarcerated adults also experience elevated rates of infectious diseases, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, mental illness, and substance use disorders, often occurring at the same time. This, paired with the aging incarcerated population, is making it increasingly difficult for correctional facilities to provide quality care while managing rising pharmaceutical costs.
Similar to hospitals and LTC facilities, correctional institutions maintain formularies tailored to meet the multifaceted healthcare needs of incarcerated individuals. Formularies are selected based on efficacy, safety, and affordability within the unique constraints of correctional healthcare. These formularies are also designed to ensure that prescribed drugs are easy to administer within the correctional setting and have a low risk of abuse.
By providing clear insights into medication expenses and adherence, our team at Thirdwave helps pharmacies better serve correctional facilities by optimizing formulary management and cutting unnecessary costs.
Controlling Costs Through Formulary Management
Formulary management is a collaborative process where pharmacies and clinical decision-makers work together to ensure clinically appropriate and cost-effective medication therapies are selected for treatments. Actively managing a cost-effective and clinically sound formulary demands expert insight, time, and ongoing oversight, which can prove difficult for correctional pharmacies serving complex patient populations.
Thirdwave's approach to formulary management ensures optimal outcomes and saves correctional pharmacies time and money:
- Drug Utilization Review (DUR): High turnover means frequent changes in inmate health profiles and medication needs. By assessing ongoing utilization, our automation and expert reviews provide adjustments and formulary considerations that lower expenses and maximize valuable rebate revenue.
- OTC & Waste Management: Thirdwave utilizes advanced technology to monitor over-the-counter utilization and minimize waste. Careful analysis of OTC usage often uncovers opportunities to save on bulk purchasing or alternative sourcing.
- Therapeutic Interchange Letters: Utilizing therapeutic interchange (TI) letters, we help correctional pharmacies maintain formulary preferences with clinicians serving the inmate population. TI letters are particularly effective at correcting gaps in adherence with providers who may not be up-to-date on formulary decisions.
At Thirdwave, our experts leverage advanced technology to develop and regularly update tailored formularies that prioritize cost-effective medications aligned with inmate health needs. Transparent formulary reviews enable correctional pharmacies to provide standardized, quality medication, manage costs, and provide better patient care.
Insights and Actionable Solutions for Correctional Pharmacies
Understanding pharmaceutical spending is crucial for contract negotiations and effective formulary management but it can be difficult to track. We help all parties understand the costs and benefits of medications, ensuring decisions prioritize cost-effectiveness and optimal patient outcomes.
Our clear insights into medication expenses and adherence help correctional pharmacies prioritize cost-effective treatments while maintaining high standards of clinical care.
No matter how well a formulary is designed, it's only effective if both correctional pharmacies and care providers adhere to it. As the leading pharmacy cost management platform for correctional pharmacies nationwide, we provide continuous monitoring of formulary adherence and automate the submission of drug manufacturer rebates to significantly lower your net share of drug spend.
Thirdwave RX is a rebate administration solution that helps healthcare providers achieve their lowest net drug cost. Our team of healthcare, pharmacy, and financial professionals solve critical challenges in the healthcare ecosystem. With a proprietary technology stack and proven automation, Thirdwave offers the most innovative rebate product and services on the market.
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