ities include:
- Family practitioners
- Physician assistants
- Certified diabetes educators
- Social workers
- Patient advocates or promatoras
Innovative Payers and Sustainability
Communities were encouraged to integrate the pharmacists’ services in a way that would make them sustainable even after the project ended. Some communities developed partnerships with self-insured employers that provided payment for the pharmacist to provide care. Groups that care for uninsured or underinsured patients often sought buy-in from the administration at their clinic, which allowed for the pharmacist to dedicate time to patients with diabetes. In each of the scenarios, positive outcomes justify the resources invested in pharmacists’ services, often leading to the continuation or expansion of the care model.
As described in Our Approach, “aligned incentives” means that all stakeholders are motivated to implement the model because of what they will receive in return. For healthcare providers and clinic administrators, interdisciplinary care teams provide efficiency in the system and result in healthier patients. For pharmacists, the ability to provide direct patient care and receive payment for those services supply strong incentives to implement the model. Payers experience reduced total cost of care when they implement models. The incentives that motivate patients change based on culture, health beliefs, access to quality care, socioeconomic status, and many other factors.
Within Project IMPACT: Diabetes, communities were not required to provide patient incentives but they were encouraged to consider what tactics would best motivate patients to visit with the pharmacist and stay engaged in self-management behaviors. Many self-insured employer communities waived copayments associated with diabetes medications and supplies, and some provided additional incentives for goal achievement. In FQHCs, free clinics, and other communities serving the un- or under-insured, incentives were provided in the form of bus tickets, free meals during educational sessions, enhanced social services, and grocery store gift cards. Some communities found that many patients saw the access to quality diabetes care as the incentive and were eager to maintain their relationship with the pharmacist who cared for and spent time helping them.
In partnership with: