University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Publishes Four Articles About Heterogeneity in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy
Tucson, Ariz. (PRWEB) May 27, 2014 -- Pharmacists, medical and pharmacy managers and pharmacy benefit managers will be interested in four articles by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy to be published in the June issue of the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy http://www.amcp.org/jmcp/.
The articles deal with various aspects of the subject of heterogeneity, the notion that underlying characteristics can help explain how safe and effective a treatment will be in a given individual.
The articles were developed by the college’s Comparative Effectiveness Research Group and colleagues recruited by the group.
“We are excited to have the avenue of a distinguished journal, the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy, through which to share our expertise in heterogeneity and comparative effectiveness research,” says Daniel Malone, RPh, PhD, professor at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. “We hope to help pharmacists and health plans better understand the concept of heterogeneity of treatment effect as they make treatment and coverage decisions. Ultimately, of course, our aim is to improve patient care.”
One of the articles reports on original research conducted by the college. “Evaluation of an Educational Program on Deciphering Heterogeneity for Medical Coverage Decisions” is by lead author Terri Warholak, RPh, PhD, associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.
“We conducted this study because it is increasingly important for decision makers such as medical and pharmacy benefit managers to understand variation and diversity in treatment response as they optimize care for populations of patients,” says Warholak.
The other three articles are commentaries, as follows:
• “Medical and Pharmacy Coverage Decision Making at the Population Level” by Penny Mohr and Sean Tunis. Mohr and Tunis are with the Center for Medical Technology Policy, where Mohr is senior vice president, program development, and Tunis is founder and chief executive officer. Tunis is also former director at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• “The Good, the Bad and the Different: A Primer on Aspects of Heterogeneity of Treatment Effects” by Daniel Malone, Lisa Hines and Jennifer Graff. Hines is a clinical research pharmacist with the UA College of Pharmacy. Graff is the National Pharmaceutical Council’s director of comparative effectiveness research.
• “Managing Heterogeneity in Prescription Drug Coverage Policies” by J. Russell Teagarden. Teagarden is senior vice president of medical and scientific affairs at the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
The project was supported by funding from the National Pharmaceutical Council.
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Ginny Geib, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, http://www.pharmacy.arizona.edu/, +1 (520) 626-3389, [email protected]
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