Prescription crosscheck program helps Tricare beneficiaries

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  • By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
  • Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  The Tricare military health plan is ensuring patient safety for its 9.2 million beneficiaries through a revolutionary drug utilization program, a senior Tricare official said last week.

"We cover about 2.2 million prescription medication claims per week -- that's about 120 million prescriptions per year," Navy Rear Adm. Thomas J. McGinnis, chief of Tricare's pharmaceutical operations directorate, told "Dot Mil Docs" listeners Feb. 26 on BlogTalkRadio.com. "That data comes into the Pharmacy Data Transaction System, ... and the purpose of PDTS is to provide a safety net via electronic drug utilization reviews."

Admiral McGinnis said the software notes any new medication coming into a patient's profile and compares it to other medications in that patient's profile. The software looks for duplications in therapy or possible drug interactions.

"If it notes a serious interaction, PDTS sends a message to the pharmacist, who will call the prescriber to discuss what the patient should do," Admiral McGinnis said. "Our ultimate goal here at Tricare is to identify safety concerns in our beneficiary population before the number of serious adverse events triggers a concern at (the Food and Drug Administration)."

He added that the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have made great strides in collecting medical and pharmaceutical data in a way that potentially can identify safety issues quickly. The departments have formed a partnership with FDA in a new initiative called "The Sentinel Network," an advanced adverse-event surveillance system.

"We also need this capability to assess the negative risk of medications vs. their benefit in the population at large," Admiral McGinnis said. "Any medication you take has risks. Our goal is to assess the risk and notify the providers and patients so that they can make informed decisions about how they should take their medications."

The PDTS system was adopted Air Force wide in April 2001 and the Malmstrom Clinic has been using it since then, according to Maj. Fernando Santana, 341st Medical Support Squadron chief of pharmacy services. 

"Prior to using PDTS, Air Force pharmacies relied on their own records to screen for interaction and duplicate medications," Major Santana said. "They were unable to crosscheck with downtown pharmacies." 

Since its adoption, countless patients have been alerted to possible dangers. 

"We catch these (non-compatible) prescriptions on a daily basis. We have had a patient who is seeing several doctors bring in a prescription from one of their providers for a medication in the same class of medications they are already on," Major Santana said. "In most cases, the pharmacy contacts the physician and patient to make them aware of the interaction or duplication of therapy." 

But it also serves in another capacity. 

"Not only do we screen for interactions and duplications, but the pharmacy staff also screens for patients with drug-seeking behavior," Major Santana said. "We can see when and where a patient has picked up a narcotic medication and if it may be too soon to fill another prescription for that patient." 

With patient safety and providing the best healthcare possible for the Malmstrom community at the forefront, the PDTS has proven its worth. 

"This system gives the pharmacy better visibility over the patient's medication therapy, thus allowing the pharmacy to be a key player in the patient's complete healthcare," Major Sanatana said. "Working closely with each patient's provider helps ensure the best pharmaceutical service and comprehensive healthcare to the Malmstrom community." 

Anyone with questions can contact a pharmacy staff member at 731-3095. 

(Editor's Note: Valerie Mullett, 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office, contributed to this article)