A Record of Accomplishments 1990-2015
Established in 1990 as the Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy—recently renamed the AMCP Foundation – we have been committed from Day 1 to meeting the public health care needs. We do this by helping managed care pharmacy experts address patient needs through access to unbiased, evidenced based information on new drugs. The goal has always been to help the public get the best available, best value drugs to maximize their pharmacy benefits.
Current initiatives look to the Future
While operating as a supporting organization of AMCP, the Foundation focuses on the broad context of addressing public needs and future roles of managed care pharmacy in providing patient care. During the past year, the Foundation conducted two major projects, both addressing future elements of managed care pharmacy.
The first was the Foundations’ annual research symposium under the theme Specialty Pharmacy and Patient Care: Are We at a Tipping Point?, conducted prior to AMCP Nexus 2014 Conference in Boston, MA. Key issues included a focus on the specialty drug conundrum: why is something so great so expensive? Under pressure to improve outcomes, but also control costs, many payers are employing cost containment tools - such as high copays - that some say have gone too far. Others, including providers and patients, are beginning to question the ROI. Has this focus denied some patients access to "wonder" drugs? Read speaker summaries addressed these important questions - from a variety of perspectives, including public policy, the marketplace, ethics and patient care.
A second major research initiative was the Foundation’s six month long project to identify and assess the impact of the rapidly changing dynamics in the US health care system. This project outlined the top 10 emerging health care trends expected to have a significant impact on managed care pharmacy organizations in the next five years. The projects findings were published in the report Ahead of the Curve—Top 10 Emerging Health Care Trends: Implications for Patients, Providers, Payers and Pharmaceuticals.
The assessments from this report also provide real-world insights on key health policy priorities relevant to broader health care stakeholders, ranging from patients to providers to manufacturers. The findings for each emerging trend emphasize that health care provision and disease management in the US takes place within an interdependent system. Many of these emerging trends are heavily interconnected and their impact across stakeholders should be viewed in an aggregate manner.
A snapshot of accomplishments in our 25 years include:
- Leading a consortium of pharmacists and pharmacy organizations to establish the unprecedented AMCP Framework for Quality Drug Therapy, bridging the gap between the status quo and ideal drug therapy.
- Development of the nationally recognized P&T Competition Program involving over 800 pharmacy students in teams from managed care pharmacy student chapters learning in a practical way the techniques employed in effective evidence based pharmaceutical evaluation.
- Student internship programs conducted over 21 years, providing over 200 pharmacy students exposure to real world managed care pharmacy practice and operations.
- Addressing value based healthcare and the role of pharmaceuticals.
- Examining evidence based formulary decision making.
- Enhancing pharmacy literacy to improve adherence and persistency.
- Focusing on key elements of specialty pharmaceutical utilization.
- Pharmacy student, resident and fellow poster competition at AMCP national meetings.
- Recognizing sustained leadership and contribution to managed care pharmacy through establishment of awards like the Steve G. Avey Award.
- Conducting Institutes of Learning for managed care and other healthcare professionals on key clinical issues.
- Conducting roundtables on the Value of Medicines to build understanding of managed care pharmacy principles.
- Conducting seminars on Medication Therapy Management Quality of Care programs.