Drug Utilization Management
Independent Health’s Drug Utilization Management program improves safe access to medications while addressing specific patient safety concerns. When you fill a prescription, our system identifies drug related problems and notifies the pharmacist before they dispense the medicine. Some potential problems we screen for are:
- Interactions between drugs – even prescriptions filled at separate pharmacies
- Duplications of medications – when a patient is receiving two or more very similar drugs, one may have been prescribed by a specialist unaware that the primary care doctor was already prescribing the other
- Dosage outside of the norm
- Drugs that should be avoided during pregnancy
- Drugs that may not be appropriate based on age or gender
Independent Health also monitors prescription profiles after they've been dispensed and will notify affected patients and physicians when:
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) releases new safety concerns about a particular drug
- Drug recalls occur
- Over or under use of a medication is identified
- Drug abuse or misuse is identified as a concern
Other Information to Keep You Safe
Taking the right medication is important to your health and well-being. Independent Health offers important information for you to discuss with your doctor:
High Risk Medications for the Elderly
Certain medications should be avoided or used with caution in the senior population. Be sure to speak with your doctor if you or a loved one are taking any of these medications.
Disclaimers
Independent Health is a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract offering HMO, HMO-SNP, HMO-POS and PPO plans. Enrollment in Independent Health depends on contract renewal.