Delmarva has convened a regional pharmacy community to improve the quality of health care for Medicare beneficiaries by introducing a broad reaching drug safety initiative. The project has the potential to improve health care for over 700,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Maryland with Part D drug coverage.

The project, termed the Pharmacy Quality Improvement Community (Pharmacy QIC) will carry out the task of improving the rates of Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs).

DDIs and PIMs cause responses to a drug that is unintended and can lead to adverse drug events. This leads to increased costs to healthcare providers, more frequent physician office visits, emergency department visits, and increased hospitalizations. As the Pharmacy QIC begins to improve the rates of DDIs and PIMs, Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare providers will benefit from the increase in drug safety.

The core of the Pharmacy Quality Improvement Community (Pharmacy QIC) will include Medicare Part D drug plans, sponsors, healthcare providers, and academic institutions. The Part D drug plans will be major stakeholders in this initiative.

The approach to reducing DDIs and PIMs will be multifaceted, using different tools according to the role of the healthcare provider involved. Tools will be developed from “evidence based” and “best practice” discussions within the Pharmacy QIC, using the combined expertise of the Pharmacy QIC and using public resources on drug safety.

If you have questions, please contact:

Jennifer Thomas, Pharm.D.
Manager, Pharmacy Services
Delmarva Foundation
6940 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 420
Columbia, MD 21046-2788
office: 410 872-9698
Toll Free: 800-876-3362
fax: 443-285-0985
thomasjen@dfmc.org