Award-winning McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions on display at McKesson ideaShare 2013

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — One of the greatest challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry today is medication non-adherence — a fact that has not gone unnoticed by McKesson.

A variety of pharmacy-based solutions, designed to help pharmacy owners drive better results both from a patient outcomes and a profitability standpoint by offering services that promote long-term adherence and opportunities for patients to enroll in clinical trials, will be on display for ideaShare attendees through McKesson’s Clinical Services network.

These types of services and solutions recently drew praise from the Center for Business Intelligence, which recognized McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions in April at its 12th Annual Patient Adherence and Support Summit. McKesson earned the Strategic Patient Adherence Award for its Pharmacy Intervention Program — Diabetes Platform.

“While the benefits of pharmacy-based, patient adherence support programs are recognized by patients, healthcare providers and manufacturers alike, the industry has struggled to implement successful models that scale across various pharmacy segments, largely due to disparate technology and the complexity of recruiting and training participants,” stated Stacey Irving, VP of strategic channel solutions for McKesson. “Our adherence and disease state knowledge, pharmacy relationships and proprietary coaching program make McKesson uniquely positioned to implement a pharmacy-based behavioral coaching program.”

The Strategic Patient Adherence Awards recognize excellence in adherence programs, acknowledging thought leaders who bring new solutions to the table to address the problem of non-adherence. The medication adherence programs awarded are proven to improve adherence rates, introduce innovative solutions to engage/motivate patients, or are breaking new ground in creating a scientific foundation for future adherence programs.

McKesson’s Pharmacy Intervention Program — Diabetes Platform is designed to expand patient access to one-on-one behavioral coaching from their retail pharmacists to improve medication adherence and ultimately achieve better patient health.

During the course of the targeted, face-to-face coaching sessions, which last for five minutes, pharmacists use open-ended questions to help patients identify their current barriers to success and their motivation for being adherent. These sessions help solidify a partnership between the patient and the pharmacist in order to develop a personalized plan for success as well as a follow-up session at the patient’s next prescription refill.

The Pharmacy Intervention Program found that patients who received face-to-face behavioral coaching showed significant adherence benefits across a variety of brands in the diabetes therapeutic class.

In fact, results from its diabetes portfolio of programs illustrated that patients who received face-to-face behavioral coaching showed an average of four incremental refills over 12 months, and adherence improved by 25%. These gains were achieved both through increased compliance (patients who received coaching returned earlier to fill their diabetes prescriptions) and persistence (patients who received coaching stayed on therapy longer). Furthermore, studies showed sustained adherence impact for these patients through the 18-month mark, demonstrating true health behavior change.

In the United States, adherence rates for chronic medications average only 50%, with one-third of all prescribed medications going unfilled. This lack of adherence not only accounts for 125,000 deaths annually in the United States, but also costs the global pharmaceutical industry an estimated $30 billion per year.