Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee and Staff Help

Evidence based Medicine

Quality Help for Quality Care Including Free Evidence-based Resources & Tools

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An evidence-based healthcare approach matters to care for patients effectively, improve patient safety and reduce waste.

Delfini Publication: Creating evidence-based drug monographs and drug class reviews

Formulary Article

Formulary®: a peer-reviewed drug management journal for managed care and hospital decision-makers

Read the Formulary article on creating systematic reviews.

Delfini Contributing Authors to —

Evidence-based Pharmacotherapy

Chiquette E, Posey LM. Evidence-based Pharmacotherapy. American Pharmacists Association. APhA Publications; 1 edition (January 15, 2007).
ISBN-10: 1582120684
ISBN-13: 978-1582120683

Available at Amazon.com; read our evidence-based pharmacotherapy chapter which is freely available for here

Delfini committee and staff training program scores average 4.9+ out of 5.0

The Specifics...

Critical Appraisal Online Tutorial: A brief (and hopefully fun) online tutorial on the basics of critical appraisal of therapeutic interventions. The emphasis is on evaluating efficacy claims of primary studies using superiority designs.

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Contact us to discuss your needs.

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An informal survey has shown that having an operating Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee can reduce drug expense.

Findings: 10% of premiums go to Rx drug costs in a well-run health care organization with a P & T committee and formulary system; 25% go to Rx drug costs without a P & T committee.

We work extensively with Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees and staff to help achieve optimal operations. We have in depth experience working with all stakeholders in this work, including some of the largest and most respected formulary management and pharmacy benefit management groups in the country.

If your formulary management operation is anything like most, then the following is likely to be true:

Too much of the wrong information...

  • Staff are filled with uncertainty about how far to go to gather information
  • Consequently, too much information is gathered
  • Much of the information gathered is not useful
  • Much of the information gathered is not evaluated correctly
    • Staff have a tendency to upgrade evidence — if they critically appraise it at all
    • Most studies do not do a proper accounting of their results — and should be tossed or re-analyzed. Most staff either do not recognize this or lack the means to re-analyze the data
  • Staff are uncertain how to manage areas of complexity
  • Drug monographs are too long and don't contain the most helpful information — nor is information presented in the right way

Committee members are working at odds with each other and with staff...

  • Committee members need trustable information
  • Committee members need critical appraisal training
  • Committee members need clarity of process

Committee processes are working against everyone...

  • Are you voting? (Learn why voting can work against quality decisions.)
  • Is your committee tasked with comparing agents? (Learn why this can create a host of problems for effective functioning.)
  • Do you have clarity in your processes?

There is an ROI for an optimally functioning P & T committee.

Pharmacy and Therapeutics and formulary management tools available to clients and participants of select programs.

Delfini has extensive experience —
  • Managing, participating and assisting P & T Committees and Pharmacy Benefit Management companies (PBMs)
  • Reviewing processes and procedures for committee work, including monograph development, staff presentations, committee operations and meeting management
  • Evidence-based drug monograph template development
  • Staff and committee member training ranging from basics to advanced seminars
  • Auditing staff products and staff skills assessment
  • Development of criteria for committee decisions, including special areas such as medical benefit incorporation, through our medical technology assessment experience, and oncology
  • Development of evidence grading systems and applications
  • Evidence-reviews for monographs
  • Development of tools to support committee work
  • Authors of articles and textbook chapters

Sample Program — How to Avoid Classic Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee Pitfalls; How to Make Your Staff Effective (Or Be a Successful Staffer) & How to Make Your Committee Sing!

Help for committee structure and process steps, materials and outputs, staff and committee member skills in an efficient, comprehensive and comprehensible presentation:

  • Introduction to the formulary system
  • Qualities of an efficient & effective formulary system
  • Pitfalls P & T Committees and staffers commonly fall into and how to avoid them
  • How to conduct scientific, clinical and economic drug reviews
  • How to effectively use various resources available to ensure quality of the information used for formulary decisions and for creating efficiency
  • Work processes for content developers
  • Tips for organizing staffing for committee support work
  • P & T Committee decision criteria
  • Evidence versus judgment: how to apply both correctly in achieving value
  • Class effect, generic and therapeutic substitutions
  • Tips for smooth committee operations and deliberations
  • Tools including Drug Review Template, NNT Drug Comparison Calculators and other tools for simplified and practical economic analyses

Testimonials

“...nobody does it better than Delfini!!!...wonderful program...been to many of your programs and continue to learn, be inspired and stretch...already incorporating the information as well as your tools into our processes...”
Portland OR

“...already using tools in real life...like the organized approach...helped us change...real success...improved patient care...help us use resources optimally...invaluable...”
Fort Wayne IN

"I've been attending seminars with the Delfini Group since 2001. They have played an instrumental role in the enhancement of our P & T process. Their programs mix together an enthusiasm for evidence-based medicine with factual market-driven ideas to efficiently utilize the available resources… Our P & T presentation format and discussions have become more efficient, and we have standardized decision algorithms that help during crossroad discussions for an individual therapy. The evidence will never have all the answers. But this process brings a framework of support that has improved efficiency and, I believe, a greater satisfaction for committee members with the difficult task of P & T therapy evaluations and literature review."
Portland OR

Formulary Management training, process help, monograph development and tools in areas such as —

  • Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Management & Operations
  • Drug Review Template for drug monograph preparation
  • Searching and Sources
  • Study Summarizing
  • Critical Appraisal of primary and secondary studies & secondary sources
  • Evidence Grading
  • Pharmacoeconomic Study evaluation
  • Clinical Guideline evaluation
  • Intention-to-Treat Analysis Calculator
  • Cost Analysis
  • Number-Needed-to-Treat Drug Comparison calculator
  • Evidence Synthesis
  • Wording Conclusions
  • Decision Aids
  • Implementation
  • Measurement


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