More than half (57 percent) of Medicare beneficiaries were less likely to be prescribed medications that may cause potential health risks thanks to a pilot risk-alert program implemented by St. Paul, Minn.-based Prime Therapeutics LLC and CoverMyMeds, the nation's largest electronic prior authorization (ePA) platform.  

Prime and CoverMyMeds sought to address the problem of prescribing high-risk medicines to seniors by taking preventative action at the point of prescription. During the program, which took place in the first half of 2015, Prime used real-time messaging to alert the prescriber of a medication's risk and provide options for alternatives. Over 50 percent of the time, prescribers chose to act on the program's recommendation for alternative, lower-risk medications, ultimately reducing the health plan's number of at-risk patients.

"We wanted to test our ability to help our members avoid safety issues associated with high-risk medications, especially when we know there are safer options," said Scott Fries, Prime's senior vice president of government programs. "The pilot results clearly show how collaboration and innovation can work together to keep members safe [and] improve health outcomes."

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