Digital Health Canada Member HumanisRx™ uses proprietary software comprised of sophisticated clinical algorithms to analyze drug claim data and identify medication therapy problems and health risks. The ultimate goal is to help private insurers and public payors optimize health and disability spending. HumanisRx™ delivers these enhanced health outcomes through a team of highly trained pharmacists.
In 2019, HumanisRx™, Munich Re, GroupHEALTH Benefit Solutions and Disability Management Institute undertook a retrospective data study to evaluate the program and its potential value for Canadian plan sponsors and insurers.
The analytical results of the study suggest that medication use poses a high level of risk to Canadians. One in every four plan members in the study had at least one identified drug therapy problem (represented by alerts) and this was consistent over different populations and over time within a similar population. Safety problems were the most common, followed by adherence and gaps in care. Drug therapy problems related to mental health were identified most often, with diabetes and cardiovascular coming in second and third respectively.
RxCompanion™ also identified high risk cohorts, such as members with multiple and/or unresolved drug therapy problems over time. These members carry a higher risk of health problems and increased absence and disability costs.
Munich Re developed a model for estimating the value of long-term disability savings from the proactive medication optimization program in Canadian workplaces using the results of the retrospective analysis. The model indicates that the program could potentially provide a Canadian population of 200,000 plan members up to $2.7M ($1.11 per member per month) in annual long-term disability savings if all assumptions materialize. A similar valuation model developed by HumanisRx predicted annual short-term disability savings of $3M ($1.26 per member per month) for a total annual disability savings of $5.7M ($2.37 per member per month).
Insurers would benefit from reduced disability costs by implementing a proactive medication optimization program. In addition to disability savings, plan sponsors would expect reductions in workplace absence, employee replacement, presenteeism and benefit costs. Public payors and health systems would benefit from MedMonitor’s ability to identify and resolve medication and health risks in large populations. Implementation of the MedMonitor program will lead to improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare spending by targeting interventions at high risk populations.
Based on the retrospective study, it is recommended that insurers, plan sponsors and public payors adopt a proactive medication optimization program to their disability management or health and wellness strategies.
Download the complete study A Progressive Approach to Plan Member Health: Predicting the Value of Proactively Resolving Medication Risks in Canadian Workplaces.