MedNetOne Health Solutions Announces Partnership with Sav-Mor Drug Stores

PRESS RELEASE

Rochester, Mich.--- Feb. 1, 2016 --- MedNetOne Health Solutions (MNOHS), a health care management organization offering infrastructure, clinical and technology services to independent physician practices and other independent care providers, announces it has established a partnership with Michigan-based Sav-Mor Drug Stores. The goal of the partnership is to engage pharmacists with primary care physicians (PCPs) within the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model to manage patients’ medications, increase patients’ understanding of their prescription drug needs and ensure medication appropriateness and adherence.

The joint announcement was made by Sav-Mor Executive Vice President Yvonne Gallagher and MedNetOne Health Solutions CEO Ewa Matuszewski.

“We have long believed that pharmacists need to be part of the solution to patient-centric care, and we have taken active steps to facilitate that,” Matuszewski said. “Sav-Mor and MedNetOne Health Solutions have similar philosophies regarding community engaged health care. As independent health care organizations in niche areas, we are well positioned to respond quickly to opportunities like this partnership that can have an almost immediate impact on improving patient care.”

All Sav-Mor pharmacies are independently owned and operated, and each advocates for the value of the pharmacist in enhancing quality, affordable care through active community engagement. Gallagher also noted the compatibility of the two organizations.

“Sav-Mor is excited to be working in conjunction with MedNetOne as the pharmacy industry changes to be more in line with the population health models,” Gallagher said. “Our pharmacists have completed comprehensive care management training and given their input and recommendations on the role of pharmacists in the PCPs office. They are now eager to begin the integration with the physicians and other members of the clinical team.”

Gallagher added that many of the healthcare services offered by Sav-Mor and MedNetOne are parallel.

“We didn’t understand the degree of comparability initially,” Gallagher said. “Now, we see our relationship will have more interoperability, allowing for greater collaboration and resulting in a healthier, more motivated population.”

The partnership with Sav-Mor is an outgrowth of a pilot program MNOHS started in 2014, placing a Sav-Mor pharmacist one day a week in the practice of a Detroit area MNOHS member’s primary care practice. With the assistance of a pharmacist responsible for medication management, reconciliation management and patient education, the PCP’s office HEDIS (quality) scores rose 10%. Patients with diabetes saw the greatest improvement as a result of individual and group self-management sessions overseen by the pharmacist.

No cash is being exchanged as part of the partnership between Sav-Mor and MNOHS. There are approximately 3,000 high risk patients in the MNOHS primary care population who can benefit by this new pharmacy collaboration. Tia Ollie, Pharm.D., who recently joined MNOHS as Director of Pharmacy Service after nearly 10 years at the Detroit Medical Center, will oversee the pharmacists engaged in the new partnership, as well as all of MNOHS’ organization-wide pharmacy activities.