Impact of disease and health management strategies on formulary design and management

Recent changes in the healthcare system have prompted the growth and management of disease and health management strategies in the US. Most of the initiatives include a heavy emphasis on the pharmacotherapy component as it has been noted that effective therapies can lead to improvement in care and in some cases lower overall healthcare costs. As markets continue to move to increased integration, there will be a greater focus on traditional pharmacy and therapeutic committees to evaluate the impact of therapies on the overall care of and cost to their covered members. Additionally, pharmaceutical products will be evaluated as to their place in the overall health and disease management strategies that the plan offers to its payers and providers. A growing trend among pharmaceutical benefit designs is to offer various levels of coverage via patient copayments to reduce the growth of drug expenditures. This places a greater emphasis on provider communication and patient awareness and understanding of the value of pharmaceutical products as a means to improving health.