Spring Break
RIDOC, URI collaborate through pharmacy consultancy program
Chris Curtis
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: News
04/09/09 - A collaboration between the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and the R.I. Department of Corrections has saved tax payers $12 million in drug costs during the past seven years.
RIDOC Associate Director of Health Care Services Joe Marocco praised the program for streamlining costs.
"We're striving for efficiency here and we feel that in collaboration with URI, our pharmacy program as it is currently set up is a very efficient program," Marocco said.
The Healthcare Utilization Management Center, a College of Pharmacy consultancy program run, has managed the RIDOC's pharmacy program since 2002.
The HUMC has several state clients, including the R.I. Department of Administration, the Department of Health Services, and the Office of Vermont Health Access, but the RIDOC program is unique for the center.
"We kind of evolved from being consultants to this project which is partially consulting but also more hands-on," said Paul Larrat, who co-directs the HUMC with pharmacy professor Rita Marcoux.
Under the original three-year, $454,000-contract and the current four-year, $682,000-contract, the HUMC oversees the pharmacy program, analyzes data, evaluates prescription habits and develops prescription protocols to maximize efficiency.
Larrat described these prescription protocols as a significant factor in the program's success.
"In any setting there tends to be over-prescribing, just in the United States in general we're the most medicated society on Earth, and being able to change that a bit has helped," Larrat said.
The HUMC also employs an on-site pharmacist at RIDOC.
The cost of the part-time pharmacist as well as administrative and research costs combine to keep the program from being a moneymaker for the college, Larrat said.
The purpose of the program is to provide real-life training for pharmacy students, he added.
"We didn't want to just become consultants to the Department of Correction on our own, but we thought this would be really cool for the students to get involved in, and it is," Larrat said.
Two students at a time work with the program in five-week rotations for which they earn credit.
Students analyze spending, crunch numbers and help to develop protocols, Larrat said.
Brian Touhey, a sixth-year pharmacy major, completed a rotation with the program late last month and praised his experience.
At the HUMC, Touhey analyzed spending on emergency medications, which he said made him more aware of budget realities that he was not exposed to in class.
"We were just told 'use the best possible medication,' and sometimes it's not very economically feasible," Touhey said. "It adds another aspect into making decisions for pharmacy students going on in their careers."
RIDOC Associate Director of Health Care Services Joe Marocco praised the program for streamlining costs.
"We're striving for efficiency here and we feel that in collaboration with URI, our pharmacy program as it is currently set up is a very efficient program," Marocco said.
The Healthcare Utilization Management Center, a College of Pharmacy consultancy program run, has managed the RIDOC's pharmacy program since 2002.
The HUMC has several state clients, including the R.I. Department of Administration, the Department of Health Services, and the Office of Vermont Health Access, but the RIDOC program is unique for the center.
"We kind of evolved from being consultants to this project which is partially consulting but also more hands-on," said Paul Larrat, who co-directs the HUMC with pharmacy professor Rita Marcoux.
Under the original three-year, $454,000-contract and the current four-year, $682,000-contract, the HUMC oversees the pharmacy program, analyzes data, evaluates prescription habits and develops prescription protocols to maximize efficiency.
Larrat described these prescription protocols as a significant factor in the program's success.
"In any setting there tends to be over-prescribing, just in the United States in general we're the most medicated society on Earth, and being able to change that a bit has helped," Larrat said.
The HUMC also employs an on-site pharmacist at RIDOC.
The cost of the part-time pharmacist as well as administrative and research costs combine to keep the program from being a moneymaker for the college, Larrat said.
The purpose of the program is to provide real-life training for pharmacy students, he added.
"We didn't want to just become consultants to the Department of Correction on our own, but we thought this would be really cool for the students to get involved in, and it is," Larrat said.
Two students at a time work with the program in five-week rotations for which they earn credit.
Students analyze spending, crunch numbers and help to develop protocols, Larrat said.
Brian Touhey, a sixth-year pharmacy major, completed a rotation with the program late last month and praised his experience.
At the HUMC, Touhey analyzed spending on emergency medications, which he said made him more aware of budget realities that he was not exposed to in class.
"We were just told 'use the best possible medication,' and sometimes it's not very economically feasible," Touhey said. "It adds another aspect into making decisions for pharmacy students going on in their careers."
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