By: Nic Hayes
Poorly managed chronic conditions drive waste in our healthcare system. Research conducted by the Annals of Pharmacotherapy found that non-optimized medication use accounts for 16% of healthcare expenditure. That is even more than the cost of the medications themselves which only account for 13% of total healthcare spend.
In addition to financial waste, poor management of chronic conditions also has a number of adverse effects on the health and productivity of the population. Non-optimized medication use can result in health issues escalating in severity to the point of needing more expensive interventions such as emergency care and hospitalizations which also adds to healthcare expenses. The adverse effects of poor chronic condition management can result in your employees feeling unsupported which can then lead to decreased morale and higher turnover costs as well as increased recruitment and training costs.
Poor chronic condition management is the result of a couple of different factors. For one, members are not provided the necessary education about their health conditions, medications, and risks of complications. There is also a lack of coordination among multiple providers and pharmacies when it comes to a management plan. To top it all off, retail pharmacists do not have the needed time to conduct comprehensive health and medication reviews for all customers.
To avoid the pitfalls of poor chronic condition management, your members need individualized care that meets them where they are within their health care journey. Through partnering with employers, Tria Health is an influential transparent partner needed to address and manage chronic diseases as well their associated avoidable healthcare expenses.
Tria Health is dedicated to building a partnership of trust with members and their health care providers to deliver member-centered and pharmacist-led chronic condition management that results in optimal health outcomes. Since most chronic conditions are managed using medications, pharmacists are the most effective resource for helping members achieve desired outcomes, and the fact that Tria Health is pharmacist-led truly differentiates them from other solutions in the marketplace.
The benefit of a pharmacist-led solution can best be seen in the way it impacts individual member’s lives.
One such case was a consultation that a Tria Health pharmacist had with a patient who was recently discharged from the hospital with new onset congestive heart failure. During the consultation, the pharmacist went over all the medications that were being taken prior to hospitalization and the others that we prescribed after discharge. By reviewing the medications, the pharmacist was able to notice that some of the medications prescribed represented duplicate therapies and dramatically increased the risk for adverse side effects. For example, the patient was prescribed Carvedilol and Metoprolol, both beta blockers; however, taking two beta blockers actually weakens the strength of contractions of the heart and worsens heart failure symptoms. When you consider the fact that almost 60% of heart failure patients are readmitted into the hospital within 90 days of discharge, largely because of medication mismanagement, the fact that this patient was able to spend the holiday at home with their family is a true testament to the benefit of Tria Health’s pharmacist-led approach.
Chronic conditions management is an ongoing concern for both the health of your employees as well as the health plan. A solution like Tria Health can bring about significant benefits in several key areas of operation such as reduced medical costs, reduced pharmacy costs, improved chronic disease management, increased productivity, and enhanced employee well-being and retention.
We are proud to feature Tria Health on the Granite List.
