Revolving drug funds: a step towards health security.
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The establishment of a revolving drug fund project in Viet Nam is described and the factors responsible for its success are considered. As well as being a tool for cost recovery a revolving drug fund can serve as an entry point for strengthening health care and improving health security at local and district level. (+info)
Performance of village pharmacies and patient compliance after implementation of essential drug programme in rural Burkina Faso.
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After implementation of a nation-wide essential drug programme in Burkina Faso a prospective study was undertaken consisting of non-participant observation in the health centre and in the village pharmacy, and of household interviews with the patients. The study covered all general consultations in nine health centres in three districts over a two-week period as well as all client-vendor contacts in the corresponding village pharmacies; comprising 313 patients in consultations and 498 clients in eight village pharmacies with 12 vendors involved in dispensing 908 drugs. Additionally patients were interviewed in their households. Performance and utilization of the village pharmacy: 82.0% of the drugs prescribed in the health centres were actually dispensed at the village pharmacy, 5.9% of the drugs were not available at the village pharmacy. Wrong drugs were dispensed in 2.1% of cases. 41.3% of the drugs dispensed in the village pharmacy were bought without a prescription. Differences are seen between the district and are put in relation to different onset of the essential drug programme. Patient compliance: Patients could recall the correct dosage for 68.3% of the drugs. Drug taking compliance was 63.1%, derived from the pills remaining in the households. 11.5% of the drugs had obviously been taken incorrectly to such an extent that the occurrence of undesired drug effects was likely. The study demonstrates the success of the essential drug programme not only in performance but also in acceptability and utilization by the population. (+info)
Factors affecting bargaining outcomes between pharmacies and insurers.
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OBJECTIVE: To model the bargaining power of pharmacies and insurers in price negotiations and test whether it varies with characteristics of the pharmacy, insurer, and pharmacy market. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Data from four sources. Pharmacy/insurer transactions were taken from Medstat's universe of 6.8 million pharmacy claims in their 1994 Marketscan database. Sources Informatics, Inc. supplied a three-digit zip code-level summary database containing pharmacy payments and self-reported costs for retail (cash-paying) customers for the top 200 pharmaceutical products by prescription size in 1994. The National Council of Prescription Drug Programs supplied their 1994 pharmacy database. Zip code-level socioeconomic and commercial information was taken from Bureau of the Census' 1990 Summary Tape File 3B and 1994 Zip Code Business Patterns database. STUDY DESIGN: The provider/insurer bargaining model first employed in Brooks, Dor, and Wong (1997, 1998) was adapted to the circumstances surrounding pharmacy and insurer bargaining. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The units of observation in this study were single Medstat claims for each unique insurer/pharmacy combination in the database for selected pharmaceutical products. The four products selected varied in the conditions they treat, whether they are used to treat chronic or acute conditions, and by their sales volume. Used in the analysis were 9,758 Zantac, 2,681 Humulin, 3,437 Mevacor, and 1,860 Dilantin observations. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We find statistically significant variation in pharmacy bargaining power. Pharmacy bargaining power varies significantly across markets, insurers, and pharmacy types. With respect to market structure, pharmacy bargaining power is negatively related to pharmacies per capita and pharmacies per employer and positively related to pharmacy concentration at higher concentration levels. In addition, the higher the percentage of independent pharmacies in an area, the lower the pharmacy bargaining power. With respect to socioeconomic conditions, pharmacy bargaining power is higher in areas with lower per capita income and higher rates of public assistance. CONCLUSIONS: The bargaining power of pharmacies in contract negotiations with insurers varies considerably with exogenous factors. Local area pharmacy ownership concentration enhances pharmacy bargaining. As a result, anti-trust law prohibiting the collective bargaining of independent pharmacies with insurers leaves independents at a disadvantage with respect to chains. (+info)
Pharmacist compensation for ambulatory patient care services.
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This activity is designed for pharmacists practicing in ambulatory, community, and managed care environments. GOAL: To discuss issues involved in the transition from product-based to patient-care-based reimbursement and compensation systems for pharmacists. OBJECTIVES: 1. Differentiate between reimbursement and compensation. 2. Describe the limitations of current third-party reimbursement and compensation systems. 3. Describe ways in which compensation for seemingly identical products and services can vary. 4. Discuss the use of Medicare's Resource-Based Value Scale and the relative value unit. 5. Define and differentiate between ICD-9-CM codes and E/M CPT codes. 6. List the three key components needed to determine an E/M CPT code for a new patient seen in the pharmacy. 7. Describe and provide examples of the SOAP method of documentation. 8. Understand why the referral process is an important step in the compensation process. 9. Discuss the importance of Form HCFA-1500 and other documentation in the compensation process. (+info)
Promoting medical self-care: evaluation of a family intervention implemented in the primary health care by pharmacies.
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BACKGROUND: Medical self-care is the range of behaviours undertaken by people to promote or restore health when dealing with a medical problem. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate medical self-care effects of a family intervention implemented in primary health care by pharmacies, in terms of non-professional and professional involvement. METHODS: The intervention was implemented in one of two primary health care areas during a 4-month period and involved consecutive families acting as an intervention (IG, n = 94) or a control (CG, n = 93) group. Eight telephone interviews were conducted with each family. The families were asked about complaints of illness, how long they prevailed and how they were treated. RESULTS: The results showed (P < 0.05-0.0001) that the IG had more medical problems (931 versus 621) compared with the CG, were less hospitalized (4 versus 10), stayed at home more to take care of sick children (84 versus 40), read more medical brochures (121 versus 31), tried more non-medical treatments (228 versus 116), and had fewer visits to the department of paediatrics but more visits to primary health care (69 and 98 versus 90 and 68). CONCLUSIONS: Due to the non-randomization procedure, some caution with regard to generalization of the results must be taken, but they are in concordance with established knowledge of the usefulness of medical self-care. The results indicate that a brief intervention for families can change the use of health authorities. It therefore seems meaningful to implement the intervention in a more comprehensive way in the primary health care setting, while at the same time trying to implement it as a large-scale randomized experimental study, comprising aspects such as the individual's need for care, the use of the right organization level and the assessment of economic costs and savings. (+info)
Antibiotic dispensing by drug retailers in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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OBJECTIVES To assess over-the-counter antimicrobial dispensing by drug retailers in Kathmandu, Nepal, for rationality, safety, and compliance with existing government regulations. METHODS: Standardized cases of dysuria in a young adult male and acute watery diarrhoea in a child were presented by a mock patient to retailers at 100 randomly selected pharmacies. Questions asked by retailers and advice and medications given at their initiative were recorded. RESULTS: All retailers engaged in diagnostic and therapeutic behaviour beyond their scope of training or legal mandate. Historical information obtained by retailers was inadequate to determine the nature or severity of disease or appropriateness of antimicrobial therapy. 97% (95% CI = 91.5-99.4%) of retailers dispensed unnecessary antimicrobials in diarrhoea, while only 44% (95% CI = 34.1-54.3%) recommended oral rehydration therapy and only 3% (95% CI = 0.6-8.5%) suggested evaluation by a physician. 38% (95% CI = 28.5-48.2%) gave antimicrobials in dysuria, yet only 4% (95% CI = 1.1-9.9%) adequately covered cystitis. None covered upper urinary tract or sexually transmitted infections, conditions which could not be ruled out based on the interviews, and only 7% (95% CI = 2.9-13. 9%) referred for a medical history and physical examination necessary to guide therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although legislation in Nepal mandates a medical prescription for purchase of antibiotics, unauthorized dispensing is clearly problematic. Drug retailers in our study did not demonstrate adequate understanding of the disease processes in question to justify their use of these drugs. Risks of such indiscretion include harm to individual patients as well as spread of antimicrobial resistance. More intensive efforts to educate drug retailers on their role in dispensing, along with increased enforcement of existing regulations, must be pursued. (+info)
Syringe vending machines for injection drug users: an experiment in Marseille, France.
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OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the usefulness of vending machines in providing injection drug users with access to sterile syringes in Marseille, France. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires were offered to 485 injection drug users obtaining syringes from 32 pharmacies, 4 needle exchange programs, and 3 vending machines. RESULTS: Of the 343 respondents (response rate = 70.7%), 21.3% used the vending machines as their primary source of syringes. Primary users of vending machines were more likely than primary users of other sources to be younger than 30 years, to report no history of drug maintenance treatment, and to report no sharing of needles or injection paraphernalia. CONCLUSIONS: Vending machines may be an appropriate strategy for providing access to syringes for younger injection drug users, who have typically avoided needle exchange programs and pharmacies. (+info)
Using automated pharmacy records to assess the management of tuberculosis.
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We used automated pharmacy dispensing data to characterize tuberculosis (TB) management for 45 health maintenance organization (HMO) members. Pharmacy records distinguished patients treated in HMOs from those treated elsewhere. For cases treated in HMOs, they provided useful information about appropriateness of prescribed regimens and adherence to therapy. (+info)