DUBLIN, Ohio, June 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's request that business leaders help
increase vaccination rates, four Ohio Managed Care Organizations
(MCOs) are partnering with Outcomes™ to leverage the expertise and
trusted status of local pharmacists for vaccine consultation and
administration, particularly in underserved communities.
On behalf of Buckeye Health Plan, Molina, Paramount and
UnitedHealthcare, Outcomes, recently launched by Cardinal Health
(NYSE: CAH), created a Needs Immunization service on
the Connect™ platform to engage local pharmacists in personal
outreach to Ohio Medicaid members who have not yet received a
COVID-19 vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have
stated that COVID-19 vaccines have been rigorously evaluated for
safety and effectiveness and recommends that all people 12 years
and older be vaccinated for prevention of COVID-19 as soon as
possible. In this proactive consultation, the pharmacist connects
with a Medicaid member to address any specific concerns or
questions the patient may have about the vaccine, explain how to
receive the vaccine and if possible, administer the vaccine on the
spot.
"A personalized conversation with a healthcare provider offers
an opening for Medicaid members to share any fears about the
COVID-19 vaccine and understand how the vaccine can benefit them,"
said Jessica Frank, PharmD, Vice
President of Payer Solutions for Outcomes. "In our service, their
pharmacist reaches out to the member directly to discuss their
specific concerns."
"Encouraging Ohio's hesitant Medicaid and MyCare Ohio members to
get vaccinated requires both accuracy and immediacy along with deep
knowledge of our members and their needs," says Meera Patel-Zook, Buckeye Health Plan Vice
President Pharmacy Operations. "Our members know and trust
their local pharmacist, so the Outcomes platform is a natural fit
to enable pharmacists to proactively engage in COVID-19 vaccination
interventions."
The Needs Immunization service also provides pharmacists access
to best practices for addressing vaccine hesitancy. Participating
pharmacies earn a medication therapy management (MTM) service fee
for completing the intervention and documenting the consultation in
the Outcomes platform, including vaccine administration date. If
the vaccine is not administered at their pharmacy, the pharmacist
follows up with the patient after their consultation to confirm
they received the vaccine elsewhere.
"Molina is committed to increasing vaccination rates among its
Medicaid members through partnerships with providers and local
health departments," said Ami Cole,
plan president of Molina Healthcare of Ohio. "Our partnership with Outcomes will
leverage contact that Ohio
pharmacists have with Molina members and help increase
vaccinations."
More than 350,000 Ohio Medicaid members are expected to be
eligible for the Needs Immunization consultation. The MCOs are
reporting results of this initiative to the Ohio Department of
Medicaid to provide visibility into the impact.
"Paramount Advantage is proud to partner with our providers,
pharmacies, health departments and community agencies to increase
COVID-19 vaccination rates in Medicaid members across the state,"
said Lori Johnston, President of
Paramount Insurance. "Our goal is to work in coordination with
the other managed care plans, the Ohio Department of Medicaid and
the Governor's office to reduce barriers and incentivize more
Ohioans to get vaccinated."
The state of Ohio has applied
several inventive strategies, such as turning event centers and
fairgrounds into mass-vaccination centers and a lottery drawing
with $1 million in prize money to
increase vaccination rates and combat vaccine hesitancy.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to support the state's
creative solutions to motivate people to get vaccinations," said
Mike Roaldi, CEO of UnitedHealthcare
Community Plan of Ohio. "We know
that hearing accurate information from a trusted local source, like
a local pharmacist, is important to getting more people vaccinated
against COVID-19."
For more information on participating in MTM programs with
Outcomes, pharmacies can visit outcomesmtm.com or call (877)
237-0050.
About Outcomes™
Outcomes™ is a digital ecosystem
connecting pharmacists, payers and pharmaceutical companies. The
company delivers personalized medication therapy management,
digital patient engagement and telepharmacy solutions to a network
of 60,000+ pharmacy practices and reaches more than 23 million
patients to help improve medication adherence, drive better health
outcomes and lower the cost of care. Visit getoutcomes.com for more
information.
About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health is a distributor
of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of
medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and
data solutions for healthcare facilities. With 50 years in
business, operations in more than 40 countries and approximately
48,000 employees globally, Cardinal Health is essential to care.
Information about Cardinal Health is available
at cardinalhealth.com.
Media Contact:
Andrew
Stern
614-339-4678
andrew.stern@cardinalhealth.com
Investor Contact:
Kevin
Moran
614-757-7942
kevin.moran@cardinalhealth.com
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SOURCE Cardinal Health