Published August 22, 2017
OptumRx today announced the initial results of its Opioid Risk Management program, which is reducing opioid consumption and prescribing and will be rolled out nationwide to build on its early success.
The Opioid Risk Management program identifies the most significant points in the prescribing, dispensing and consuming process for intervention and education to reduce inappropriate use and increase alignment with Centers of Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. The program also places maximum fill limits on opioid therapy, whether the patient is new to opioids or a chronic user.
Since launching the program with more than 400 clients on July 1, these point-of-service interventions have delivered the following improvements:
"OptumRx's program is showing early but meaningful potential to begin curbing the opioid epidemic in America," said Dr. Sumit Dutta, chief medical officer of OptumRx. "We expect these improvements to continue as the program gains momentum and we implement with more clients."
By leveraging OptumRx's clinical, analytics and administrative services and its deep connections to those who can effect change – patients, providers and pharmacists – the company is uniquely positioned to help address the opioid epidemic.
David Calabrese, chief pharmacy officer at OptumRx, said, "The results of Opioid Risk Management show that through coordinated efforts across the entire spectrum of patient treatment, we can make changes that help provide better health outcomes for patients and for society as a whole."
OptumRx's approach uses a connected clinical strategy comprising pharmacy clinical capabilities and Optum analytics, as well as care management and behavior health tools. The program extends beyond what traditional, standalone pharmacy benefit organizations can tackle by targeting five key factors contributing to the current epidemic, including:
"Recognizing this is an issue that can affect any segment of our population at any point in time, successful opioid management programs must tailor engagement based on the needs of an individual," said Calabrese. "The right level of prevention and care must be delivered, at the right time, to the right stakeholder – using multiple channels and touchpoints – before a member even receives a first opioid prescription through to the effective support and management of those well entrenched in battles to fight this devastating epidemic."
For more information on OptumRx's Opioid Risk Management program, visit https://www.optum.com/resources/library/opioid-risk-management0.html.
OptumRx is a pharmacy care services company helping clients and more than 65 million members achieve better health outcomes and lower overall costs through innovative prescription drug benefit services, including network claims processing, clinical programs, formulary management and specialty pharmacy care. Through expertise, flexible technology and a network of over 67,000 community pharmacies and state-of-the-art home delivery pharmacies, OptumRx is putting patients at the center of the pharmacy experience and making health care more connected and less fragmented — ensuring patients get the right medication at the right time at the best cost. OptumRx is part of Optum®, a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to making the health system work better for everyone. For more information, visit optum.com/optumrx.
Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 100,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH). For more information, visit optum.com.