Disease management pharmacy organization

These authors wanted to describe the overall disease impact for patients with chronic epilepsy, using a retrospective cross-sectional design in a managed care organization. Multiple data sources were required, as no single data base served as a repository for the various types of data required, and included administrative databases, medical charts, pharmacy databases, outpatient databases, hospitals, laboratories, outside services, memberships and so on. They found that all the identified sociodemographic variables were available in at least one automated database, as were two of the clinical variables, and 26 of the economic variables. None of the humanistic variables were available in any database. 

Pharmacists also can benefit from building professional relationships with a core network of physicians who can refer patients to the pharmacy for adherence-related services. Reimbursement for cognitive services or disease state management programs is often tied to provider referrals. Providers usually make referrals to other specialists based on trust and their expertise and professional competence. A physician is more likely to refer a patient to a pharmacy when they have confidence in the content of the services and the competence of the pharmacist administering the therapeutic plan. Accountability (i.e., having the name of an individual, rather than an organization, responsible for the services rendered) is also important. 

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