Pharmacy faculty to develop medication information database

The School of Pharmacy has received a $781,000 grant to build an electronic medication information exchange for the state that proponents hope will be a major step forward in improving the delivery of health care in Connecticut.

Pharmacy faculty, the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, and a newly-created network of Connecticut pharmacists will use the funds to develop comprehensive medication profiles for 1,000 Connecticut Medicaid patients, and medication therapy management and adherence pilot programs for 200 Medicaid patients.

The database will contain all of a patient’s pharmacy insurance claims, their medication prescription record, their lab test data and notes about potential medication allergies, over-the-counter medications, herbal supplements, and their past medication adherence rates. This electronic health information will then be available to any licensed health care professional seeing the patient at a hospital, emergency room, clinic, pharmacy, or other health care location.

The pilot program was funded to determine how well pharmacist-led medication management and adherence programs would work in Connecticut and how pharmacists can assist the state in developing a comprehensive electronic health and medication information exchange database.

The overall goal of the pilot is to improve patient health and quality of care for Medicaid patients, as well as reduce overall health care costs, says Professor Marie Smith, head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice.

“The ability to have timely, comprehensive, and accurate information about a patient’s medications through the creation of an electronic medication information exchange is vital to the delivery of health care,” says Smith, principal investigator for the project.

“Here at the School of Pharmacy, we believe that pharmacist-led medication management and adherence programs would be beneficial not just to the 200 Medicaid patients in the pilot project but to all residents of Connecticut.”

The pilot was funded as part of a $5 million grant the Connecticut Department of Social Services received from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The UConn School of Pharmacy will report its findings in 2010.

Margherita Giuliano, executive vice-president of the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, says the association is excited about the possibilities for pharmacists and patients the pilot program may have.