Cost containment has become a critical issue in the administration of state healthcare programs and solutions must emphasize benefit management if they are to work. ACS takes a personalized approach to prescription benefits management and delivers true cost savings to our clients - some of which have achieved as much as a 20% savings. Our know-how stems from more than two decades of experience providing claims and administrative services specifically for prescription benefits programs.

ACS offers a number of programs tailored to address the continuous increases in costs and utilization, prescribing patterns, and prescriber and patient education about cost-effective medication. Our clinicians have developed the most comprehensive and integrated, yet uncomplicated, approach to solving the problems still inherent in the prescribing and utilization of pharmacy products. An overview of four of these programs is provided below.

ACS' Therapeutic Consultation Program seeks to control pharmacy program costs by strictly monitoring program drug benefits and performing reviews of physicians' prescribing activities. ACS' program promotes collaboration between pharmacists and physicians so that inappropriate drug utilization can be discontinued, without disrupting and often improving the quality of patient care. While this program impacts a small percent of patients, the cost savings achieved within an entire pharmacy program can be significant. In one state, our Therapeutic Consultation Program is being hailed as the centerpiece of the clinical management program because it has generated over $200 million in annual savings.

ACS' Therapeutic Academic Intervention Program offers a pharmacy program management approach to bring physicians' prescribing patterns in line with currently accepted program standards through education, with a focus on improving patients' quality of life and promoting cost-effective pharmaceutical care. The program provides an in-depth review of the prescribing patterns and academic intervention of selected physicians, conducted in a face-to-face meeting between ACS clinicians and physicians at the physician's place of business.

ACS' Intensified Benefits Management Program focuses on the critical evaluation of individual recipient treatment plans. The program provides an in-depth review and subsequent coordination of care involving all providers rendering care to a patient. Utilizing an integrated, pharmacist-based case management model, this initiative provides long-term case management of patients, works to coordinate care among various providers, corrects inappropriate prescribing behavior, and promotes cost-effective pharmaceutical care.

ACS' Preferred Drug List and Supplemental Rebates provide a list of preferred agents developed by ACS clinicians which is customized to a particular client's needs. The Preferred Drug List promotes the use of the most cost-effective and efficacious medications in classes where options exist. Additionally, manufacturers may offer supplemental rebates to earn a place on the drug list for their products.