URAC Announces First Companies to Earn New Pharmacy Benefit and Drug Therapy Management Accr...(r rights shared decisionmaking and educa...),Health

"These companies voluntarily sought a rigorous evaluation of their operations and have earned the URAC seal of excellence," said Alan P. Spielman, URAC's president and chief executive officer. "The accreditation standards were developed by a team of experts who buy, pay for and manage pharmaceutical programs, along with those who prescribe, dispense, and use the medications. Accreditation is a validation that companies that obtain the URAC seal are committed to quality and are willing to be accountable throughout their operations."

Pharmacy benefit management is a relatively new health care management segment, but has grown rapidly as more health care dollars are spent on prescription drugs. Confusion and controversy about how pharmacy benefit management organizations achieve their cost and quality management objectives has drawn interest from state legislatures, regulators and the courts. Independent, third-party accreditation is valuable as it enables organizations to voluntarily demonstrate excellence. Additionally, URAC's standard definitions and delineation of the key elements needed to operate an effective pharmacy management program will help to improve understanding among all key stakeholders.

URAC's accreditation process for both Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Therapy Management includes an application and evaluation process, a rigorous on-site evaluation and assessment by a URAC accreditation team, and review and consideration for accreditation by URAC's Accreditation Committee.

The companies achieving URAC Pharmacy Benefit Management Accreditation are:

Aetna, Inc.; Caremark Rx, LLC DBA CVS Caremark/Caremark; Envision Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. and Rx Options, Inc. d/b/a Envision Rx Options; Express Scripts, Inc.; Humana, Inc.; Medco Health Solutions, Inc.; Navitus Health Solutions, LLC; PerformRx; Prescription Solutions; and Prime Therapeutics, LLC.

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