Population Health Management Approach: Integration of Community-Based Pharmacists into Integrated Care Systems: Reflections from the U.S., Achievements in Scotland and Discussions in Germany

Abstract

The annual amount spent on healthcare per capita is higher and expected to grow in the U.S. compared to healthier level 4 countries (e.g., United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands), while health outcomes continue to be suboptimal [1, 2, 3]. Therefore, healthcare is slowly shifting from a fee-for-service to value-based care, which addresses social determinants of health, promotes outcome-based contracting and employs more Population Health Management (PHM) activities. The root cause for this shift has been the increase in patients’ out-of-pocket costs and the pervasiveness of poorer outcomes. PHM has been defined by many as a mindset and activities that support the Triple Aim Initiative (i.e., improving population health, experience of care, reducing costs) [4]. This article outlines the value of pharmacists on health outcomes in the U.S., Germany, and Scotland and innovative PHM approaches through pharmacist collaborative networks, polypharmacy management and pharmacists’ integration in care models [1, 5].

Keywords

• community pharmacists
• collaborative practice agreements
• prescription for excellence
• population health management
• gesundes kinzigtal
• polypharmacy management