Disease-state management programs

DUDSM = Drug Use and Disease State Management Program. Note Revisions are shown in boldface within white boxes. 

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. 

Healthcare providers are increasingly relying on pharmacists to perform outcomes research and quality-of-life studies. Pharmacists can apply basic quantitative skills in evaluating options and combine the results with qualitative information to make decisions and recommendations. For disease state management programs, measuring outcomes can be the key to success. 

Previous educational activities including disease state management programs, certifications, etc. 

Pharmaceutical care is very different from other cognitive patient care services such as clinical pharmacy and disease state management programs. It is not a separate service that is superimposed on an existing practice but a comprehensive professional practice much like medicine and nursing. Consequently, it has a clearly defined philosophy of practice, patient care process, and practice management system. The remainder of this article describes the essential principles and processes involved in the practice of pharmaceutical care. 

Patient satisfaction and quality of life are the two most common methods of measuring the humanistic outcomes of care. Improvements in patients quality of life have not been consistently demonstrated however, there is evidence that many of these studies purporting to provide pharmaceutical care were in fact disease state management or specific drug-focused programs in which pharmacists did not assume responsibility for all of the patients drug therapy treatment goals. 

Critical care phannacists have also been active in the area of collaborative disease-state management and quality improvement projects, and have documented the impact of these on patient outcome. Pharmacists often take a leadership role in these efforts. Examples of the impact of these programs include reductions in the use of laboratory... 

Managed care systems offer innovative pharmacy practice positions in such areas as pharmacoeconomics, disease state management, outcomes research, wellness program management, and technology assessment. For individuals willing to expand their pharmacy practice and develop new skills, these positions can offer unique opportunities and growth. 

Managed care plans have learned to mine claims data, looking for members who have elevated lead blood levels, pregnancy tests, diagnoses of chronic disease, or are filling medicafions no longer considered efficacious. These are opportunities to intervene with both members and providers to improve access to preventive services, educational programs, and state-of-the-art clinical care. 

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