Study: Patients at Genoa’s on-site pharmacy locations show high adherence

TUKWILA, Wash. — A new study from the Journal of Managed Care & specialty Pharmacy is taking look at Genoa’s integrated care model that features pharmacies on-site at community mental health centers and the impact that model has on adherence. 

 

Where a recent RAND Corporation found that adherence among patients taking antipsychotic medications at two Michigan community mental health centers was at 50%, Genoa patients in the study had a 96% adherence rate, with a 40% lower rate of hospitalizations for behavioral health reasons than patients who use community pharmacies. 

 

“Millions of individuals with mental illness do not take their medications as prescribed, limiting their ability to overcome often debilitating symptoms and leading to higher healthcare costs,” Genoa chief commercial officer and study co-author Mark Peterson said. “This study shows that centralizing clinical and pharmaceutical care for mental illness results in higher rates of medication adherence, which helps people live productive lives and reduces healthcare spending.”

 

Genoa’s pharmacies use adherence packaging that uses a color-coded system that organizes medicine by date and time and can help patients and caregivers track the medication regimen. 

 

“Genoa pharmacists and technicians work closely with prescribers, nurses, and case managers at behavioral health clinics to provide compassionate, personalized care for each consumer,” Peterson said. “Genoa pharmacies are just steps away from the prescribing doctor which makes it easier for people to pick up their medication. The 40% lower rate of psychiatric hospitalizations demonstrates how our integrated pharmacy model can add significant incremental total cost of care savings within CMHCs that are designed to take care of complex behavioral health patients, while improving the quality of care for these individuals.”

 

The study estimates that the cost avoidance for the 1,378 Genoa patients who were part of the study was about $230,000, based on hospitalization and emergency room visit costs, or about $58 per member per month.

 

“The study looked at a very small subset of the total population Genoa serves, but if these outcomes are consistent across the population of over 500,000 consumers we serve nationally, the Genoa model theoretically represents hundreds of millions of dollars of cost savings to the healthcare system,” Peterson said.