The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy has sent the following open letter to President Obama outlining the need for managed care pharmacy strategies in health care reform:

Dear President Obama:

The initial steps your administration has taken to address health care in the United States are greeted with enthusiasm by the members of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. We applaud your commitment to making appropriate health care accessible to all Americans. We believe the principles and strategies managed care pharmacists have defined and effectively implemented are an essential component of the complex web of interlocking pieces that must be brought together to advance patient care. The Academy's membership would welcome the opportunity to help your administration move this country to the position that the clinical care needed by each American is readily available and free of unnecessary, redundant cost.

The Academy and its members take pride in contributing to the successful launch of medication therapy availability for aged and disabled in this country through the Medicare Part D outpatient prescription drug program. The managed care pharmacy tools, honed in the private sector and applied in the Medicare setting, are responsible for the massive program's impressive satisfaction rankings among Medicare beneficiaries and its ability to continue to come in at cost levels far below those originally projected.

We believe the managed care pharmacy strategies such as use of evidence-based formulary systems, encouragement of appropriate use of generics, effective drug utilization management, prior authorization, and step therapy can and should be incorporated in health care reform efforts. The effective use of comparative effectiveness research, and the dissemination of what we learn from that research, is essential data for both physicians and pharmacists.

For over three decades, managed care pharmacists have been working on behalf of government through federal agencies and state programs, with employers of every size and type, and ordinary citizens to provide an accessible, affordable, safe and effective pharmacy benefit based on scientific evidence. We believe a representative of managed care pharmacy needs to be on the team your administration fields to achieve true health care reform in this country. We stand ready to be of assistance.

Sincerely yours,

Judith A. Cahill
Executive Director
Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is a national professional association of pharmacists and other health care practitioners who serve society by the application of sound medication management principles and strategies to achieve positive patient outcomes. The Academy's 5,700 members develop and provide a diversified range of clinical, educational and business management services and strategies on behalf of the more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed care pharmacy benefit. More news and information about AMCP can be obtained on its website, at http://www.amcp.org.

Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy