Mental Health Prescription Program Announces Extension Through 2006
July 28 2006 - 12:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
SALEM, Ore., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Behavioral Pharmacy
Management (BPM) Program, a program developed to increase the
quality of mental health drug prescribing for Oregon Health Plan
members, is continuing through 2006. The Program, which began in
June 2004, is a positive contributor to the State's efforts to
improve behavioral pharmacy prescribing for Oregon Health Plan
members with mental health conditions. The Department of Human
Services has teamed with Comprehensive NeuroScience, Inc., (CNS) a
national care management technologies company, to operate BPM. The
BPM initiative is well aligned with the Department's focus on the
quality of prescribing and the containment of escalating costs of
the Medicaid pharmacy drug benefit. It has created an opportunity
to address prescribing patterns that may be at variance with best
practices. Given the difficult financial condition of the Medicaid
budget and the federal cutbacks in Medicaid funding, the Department
is pleased that the Program is continuing through 2006. A recent
report indicated that BPM and other Partnership for Psychiatric
Medication Access (PPMA) programs are contributing to prescription
drug benefit costs for mental health drugs not rising as much as
anticipated. In addition, there has been a trend toward decreasing
prescription costs for the highest risk clients. Another positive
outcome of BPM is ready access to peer consultation. This process
offers prescribing providers the opportunity for a telephone or
on-site consultation with a licensed psychiatrist. Peer
consultation has been particularly useful for the discussion of
complex cases. In order to assure that the goals of the BPM Program
meet the needs of patients, their families and mental health
advocates, as well as the prescribing provider community, an
advisory committee comprised of a variety of stakeholders has
convened on a quarterly basis. At a meeting in December 2005, the
Advisory committee recommended that BPM be continued through 2006.
"We have been very appreciative of the feedback and input that the
Oregon Advisory Committee has provided to the BPM program. The
contributions of this Advisory Committee, in particular the medical
directors of Oregon's Health Plans and Behavioral Health Plans, and
the advocacy and consumer representatives have helped CNS to shape
our 2006 project," explains Dr. Richard Surles, senior vice
president of CNS. More than 2,100 Oregon prescribing providers on
behalf of more than 12,000 patients have received the BPM
educational materials. As a result of the Program's expansion, more
providers will receive educational materials in coming months. This
is partly in response to changes to the Oregon Medicaid pharmacy
benefit as a result of the implementation of the Medicare Part D
benefit. Beckie Child, a client, advocate and member of the Program
advisory committee states, "The information that BPM provides to
prescribers assists individuals who use medications as part of
their recovery process by creating clearer lines of communication
with their provider. I am particularly pleased that BPM addresses
poly-pharmacy prescribing, an issue that is of great concern to
clients." CNS's funding for BPM is provided by Eli Lilly and
Company. Jack Bailey, vice president of Lilly's
Business-to-Business organization, said Lilly is committed to
finding solutions that help patients improve their health while
lowering states' costs. "Lilly shares the state's concern of
balancing the healthcare needs of the most vulnerable and at-risk
individuals with controlling the cost of the state's Medicaid
program." CNS, founded in 1999, provides care management support
for pharmacy and care management services in behavioral health and
conducts pharmaceutical clinical research. CNS clients include
health plans, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and State
Medicaid agencies. DATASOURCE: Comprehensive NeuroScience, Inc.
CONTACT: Sandy L. Forquer of Comprehensive NeuroScience, Inc.,
+1-719-579-5901,
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