”The states should be proud of their achievements nationwide with this program. The data is showing how focusing on the quality of prescribing practice to assume good patient care also results in the most effective use of limited Medicaid resources.“

—Dr. Richard Surles, CNS executive vice president

Michigan

The Michigan Department of Community Health’s Pharmacy Quality Improvement Project (PQIP, a BPM program) demonstrated improvement in the quality of care provided to Medicaid patients with mental illness. ¹The PQIP, launched in May 2005, is a three-year educational program that analyzes the prescribing of mental health medications for Medicaid adult and child members and identifies prescribing patterns inconsistent with evidence-based guidelines.

An Impact Analysis was performed comparing claims cost before and after a PQIP intervention for the time period May 2005 through January 2006. A 22 percent reduction in claims and 21 percent reduction in cost were realized for the time period of the analysis.¹

¹ [No Authors Listed]. National Pharmacy Initiative Helps States Improve Care for Medicaid Patients. Mental Health Weekly. 4 June 2007; 17: 1, 6-7.