Recent News
Collaborative VBPI and Pharmacy NEJM Catalyst Publication Designated a 2024 “Editor’s Pick
NEJM Catalyst editors selected “Impact of a Pharmacy Care Management Service on Medically Complex Medicare Advantage Members” as an “Editor’s Pick” article for 2024. This designation recognizes popular articles that highlight real-world innovations across a variety of health care delivery topics.
Impact of a Pharmacy Care Management Service on Medically Complex Medicare Advantage Members
New Publication in Journal of Managed Care Specialty Pharmacy
Real-World Impact of Empagliflozin on Total Cost of Care in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Results from An Outcomes-Based Agreement
New Publication in American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Comparison of Hospitalization Costs for The Same Adverse Reaction with Difference MedicationsOur Goals
Promote
greater value in medication use
Influence
pharmaceutical purchasing within and outside of UPMC
Apply rigorous research
methodology to inform pharmacy program development
Develop and test
new payment models for medications
Identify
opportunities to innovate contracts to deliver more value to our patients and members
Leverage
the expertise of our unique payer-provider relationships as an IDFS
Broadly disseminate
findings
Mentor
the next generation of pharmacy researchers
Our Approach
Using research and analytics, we develop insights that drive the implementation of new models for value-based pharmaceutical contracting, focusing the measures of success on outcomes that truly matter for patients.
Areas of Interest
Value-Based Contracting with Industry
We develop and negotiate evidence-based and patient-centered pharmaceutical value-based agreements and evaluate contractual metrics, which reflect real-world evidence of value. Across our work, we prioritize new and high-cost drugs for which value may not yet been proven in a real-world setting, including novel drug classes to treat multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, migraine, and rare diseases (especially gene therapies). To inform some of these contracts, we may conduct Delphi research studies among diverse stakeholders to build consensus on the most meaningful and feasible disease-specific outcomes to incorporate into novel value-based contracts for pharmaceuticals.
UPMC Health Plan Business Innovation
We evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacy management initiatives to inform clinical formulary design as an integral research consultant within our integrated delivery and finance system.
Research and Thought Leadership
We collaborate with academic colleagues and a large national pharmacy benefits manager to assess and analyze developing drug trends, including utilization, cost, and patient outcome measures. Specifically, we evaluate pharmacy claims datasets and value-based contracting outcomes to demonstrate real-world impact of medications on patient health and cost implications; disseminate findings through peer-review publications and national conferences and speaking engagements; and mentor students, fellows, and junior faculty through collaborative research initiatives. Along with colleagues at UPMC, we serve as co-investigators on the Implementing Risk-Based Preemptive Pharmacogenomic (PGx) Testing in Employee Health (PreMIP) study led by Drs. Philip Empey and Lucas Berenbrok from the University of Pittsburgh.
To learn more, see Project #2’s description at Implementing Risk-Based Preemptive Pharmacogenomic (PGx) Testing in Employee HealthEducation
We collaborate with the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, School of Public Health, and School of Medicine, and mentor students, fellows, and junior faculty through a variety of research initiatives.
Resource Library
