West Virginia spends $2,139,800,000 annually on prescription drugs. Investing in pharmacist’s services optimizes the use of these prescription medications. Decades of research have proven the value of including pharmacists on health care teams.
Improved health outcomes, lower costs, and increased access to care could be a reality for West Virginia residents if pharmacists were fully empowered to serve as patient care providers. Here are some stats to consider if pharmacists’ professional services were better utilized.
An average $1,000 per patient per year is saved with pharmacist interventions for patients with chronic conditions.
Pharmacists counseling and adherence programs can save the health system $164 per patient in the six months following the start of a new prescription medication.
Many West Virginia hospitals were penalized for high readmission rates. Patients are three times more likely to stay out of the hospital when pharmacists provide clinical services after discharge.
$4.40 saved per $1 spent on pharmacists’ services…West Virginia spends almost 9% of its general fund expenditures on Medicaid. Pharmacists in Ohio delivered a 4.4 to 1 return on investment when providing medication therapy management services to Medicaid patients. West Virginia pharmacists could do this too!
