Project Promotes Evidence-based Prescribing to Improve Health Care Quality and Contain Costs

Hallowell, Maine, March 1, 2011—Prescription Policy Choices (PPC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to expand access to safe, effective, and affordable prescription drugs, has been awarded funding from the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) to develop quality measures and payment proposals related to prescription drug policy in Maine.

As health care costs, including prescription drug prices, continue to increase, PPC’s project, Show Me the Evidence: Reform to Improve Quality and Contain Costs, will promote the use of evidence-based science in prescription drug coverage decision-making. The project will research the extent to which science is used by health plans in making decisions about prescription drug coverage and will promote the use of evidenced-based research in an effort to improve health care quality and health status in Maine. At the same time, the project will work with health care providers, payers, and other stakeholder groups and seek to reduce inefficient health care practices and waste by encouraging health programs to pay for what matters by encouraging greater use of the safest, most effective and affordable prescription drugs.

“Recent studies show significant savings can be achieved by increasing the use of evidenced-based, recommended prescription drugs” said Ann Woloson, Executive Director of PPC. “The best science regarding pharmaceuticals needs to be used by policy makers—as well as providers and patients—to ensure the safest and most effective  prescription drugs are being used, which in turn will help improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs.”

Woloson points to Consumer Reports Health Best Buy Drugs™ and the National Resource Center for Academic Detailing as examples of resources available to consumers, prescribers, and policy makers which provide information about the benefits of evidence-based prescribing, including what works best, is safest, and often is more affordable. 

In addition to PPC, MeHAF awarded grants to four other nonprofit health care organizations in Maine to support their efforts to contain costs and ensure people who are uninsured and medically underserved are included in efforts to reform payment, preserve access, improve quality, and offer better value in Maine’s health care spending. The MeHAF grants will support statewide and regional approaches that address all phases of improving health, including proven cost-saving approaches to worksite wellness and community-based support for health improvement.