HJBR Jul/Aug 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE  I  JUL / AUG 2022 49 Ashleigh Netter, PharmD Vice President, Pharmacy Operations Louisiana Healthcare Connections role as a managed care pharmacist, I seek to connect our members’ interest in their health to their personal circumstances and to those aspects of their lives that matter most to them. In that way, I hope to “pre- scribe it forward.” n REFERENCES 1 “The Expanding Role of Today’s Community Pharmacists.” FDS Amplicare, EnlivenHealth, 2022. www.fdsrx.com/expanding-role-communi- ty-pharmacists/ 2 Chiara, A. “The expanding role of pharma- cists: a positive shift for health care.” Common- wealth Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, March 26, 2019. https://commed.umassmed . edu/blog/2019/03/26/expanding-role-phar- macists-positive-shift-health-care#:~:text=Man- aged%20care%20pharmacists%20have%20 the,as%20step%20therapy%20and%20prior 3 Pisikian, K. “The Work of Integrating Pharma- cists into Value-Based Care Continues.” GoodRx, Jan. 12, 2021. https://www.goodrx.com/hcp/ pharmacists/integrating-pharmacists-into-val- ue-based-care 4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Community Pharmacists and Medication Therapy Management.” Last reviewd Aug. 27, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/pubs/guides/ best-practices/pharmacist-mtm.htm 5 Carroll, A. “The Unsung Role of the Pharmacist in Patient Health.” The New York Times, Jan. 28, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/ upshot/pharmacists-drugs-health-unsung-role. html27/ 6 Cohen, M.; Pruisner, T.; Rickert, S. “The Value of Integrated Pharmacy Benefits in Medicaid Man- aged Care.” Wakely Consulting Group, LLC, June 15, 2020. https://www.wakely.com/sites/default/ files/files/content/value-integrated-pharma- cy-benefits-medicaid-managed-care-20200615. pdf A native of New Orleans, Ashleigh Netter brings a background in—and strong passion for —commu- nity pharmacy.She began her career as a pharmacist with Walgreens where, in her role as manager, she supported pharmacy operations while also volun- teering as an instructor with theWalgreensWellness University.As a volunteer instructor, she focused on providing HIV-positive patients with fundamental dis- ease education,support,and information that helped themunderstandmedication therapies and choices that lead to enhanced quality of life. Before joining Louisiana Healthcare Connections, she was phar- macy director with JenCare Senior Medical Center in New Orleans where she helped established their first retail pharmacy and was honored as “Wonder Woman” for developing and organizing community service initiatives. pharmacists also play an essential role in providing cost-effective, clinically sound medications. Amidst rapidly increas- ing drug prices, the clinical expertise of pharmacists can help mitigate the costs incurred by payors due to expanding uti- lization, innovations in drug therapy (e.g., cell and gene therapy), and the lack of manufacturer competition in drug classes for rare diseases. Managed care pharmacists have the ability to assess and compare clinical consensus guidelines and drug therapy recommendations, reviewing data from clinical trials to develop appropriate treat- ment algorithms and frequently used for- mulary management tools such as step therapy and prior authorization require- ments. With the Food and Drug Adminis- tration approving record numbers of new drug entities in recent years, the role of the pharmacist in reviewing new and complex drug technologies is critical to ensuring appropriate, cost-effective therapy — for both individual and population health — is provided. Personal Passion As a pharmacist who worked primarily with poverty-stricken, low income, and under-privileged patients, I saw the lack of intentionality in understanding how fac- tors like poverty, education, age, and race or ethnicity impact patients’ health literacy and their health outcomes. Moreover, I had patients who confided in me about their discomfort with their healthcare providers because they felt their hardships weren’t being taken into consideration as part of their care. Today, this informed perspective gives me enhanced purpose and guides my dedication to the field of pharmacy. In my THE VALUE-ADDED BENEFITS OF PHARMACISTS IN MANAGED CARE Member Focused In Medicaid managed care, the shift from a fee-for-service model to a val- ue-based care payment system has creat- ed opportunities for today’s pharmacists to take patient care to a new level. Or, in the case of many MCO (managed care or- ganization) pharmacists, to finally be paid for services they have been volunteering for years. As some of the most experienced and highly trained healthcare profession- als, community pharmacists working in an MCO setting are uniquely positioned to help members take charge of their health. That’s because a community pharmacist’s mission falls directly in line with the mis- sion of value-based healthcare and is lev- eraged, first and foremost, through a pa- tient-centered approach. With an emphasis on individualized treatment plans and on health and pre- scription regimen literacy, managed care pharmacists provide a critical link be- tween members and their prescribers. They evaluate drug utilization and formu- lary effectiveness, utilize medication ther- apy management (MTM), and facilitate a collaborative approach to prescription authority. And, by engaging with members in discussions regarding the proper use of medications and the importance of med- ication adherence, pharmacists also help members feel empowered to ask questions and seek understanding in order to make life-saving choices and decisions. Clinical Efficacy In addition to member-focused in- terventions and support, managed care