Polypharmacy Program
Premera Blue Cross
To help reduce medication errors and improve the quality of care for its customers, Premera Blue Cross developed a safety program for Plan members who take five or more prescription drugs. The Polypharmacy Program encourages physician review of these medications as well as over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements to reduce the possibility of adverse, even potentially fatal, interactions. The Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 98,000 people die in hospitals every year because of medication errors. Along with the tragic loss of human life, the financial cost of such preventable errors run up to $29 billion.
Program Elements
- The program first targeted Plan members 55 or older who take five prescription medications or more at the same time, but has since expanded to include members 19 or older. About 150,000 members have received an informational mailing, with a brochure about the risks of drug interactions and a log to inventory their medications for their physicians' review.
- The mailing also includes a "brown bag" members can use to bring all their medications – prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements – to their doctors for review.
- Physician review ensures consumers are taking the correct medications at the appropriate doses and reduces the likelihood of duplication and potential drug interactions.
- The program utilizes a computerized database to identify members most likely to benefit from a medication review.
Program Results
- According to a 2008 survey, 61 percent of the targeted members brought in their medications for the physicians to review.
- One out of every three members received prescription changes.
- Forty six percent had a medication added.
- Fifty seven percent had one or more medication stopped.
- Sixty four percent had the dosage of a medication changed.
Information updated April 2009
Contact
Ed Wong, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP, 425-918-4085, ed.wong@premera.com
