Disease Management Program Expands to Harford County

The School of Pharmacy’s P3 Program offers patients better overall health and reduced health care costs.

By Jeff Raymond
January 2, 2008

An innovative, effective program that helps people manage their chronic disease—organized in cooperation with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy—has expanded to Harford County, offering patients better overall health and reduced health care costs.

The Maryland P3 (Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships) Program provides participating employers and their employees with links to pharmacists who are trained to help patients manage their diabetes through regular counseling sessions. These sessions complement, but do not replace, regular visits to the patient’s physician and other health care providers. The P3 model, based on a successful program in Asheville, N.C., encourages patients to better manage their chronic diseases, such as diabetes, thus improving their overall health and reducing health costs.

Diabetes is a growing problem in the United States and in Maryland. Without effective treatment, diabetes can lead to heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations. Figures from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show emergency room visits in Maryland caused by complications of diabetes cost $10 million in 2005, and hospitalizations for a primary diagnosis of diabetes exceeded $78 million.

According to the most recent state figures, more than 300,000 Maryland residents had the disease in 2006. State figures show more than 12,650 diagnosed cases of diabetes in Harford County, about 7.3 percent of the county’s population.

The Maryland P3 Program is a partnership between the American Pharmacists Association Foundation (HealthmapRx), the Maryland Pharmacists Association (MPhA), the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Maryland General Assembly. It was launched for patients with diabetes in Allegany County in the summer of 2006 under the leadership of Delegate David Rudolph, Cecil County. Now, thanks to the leadership of Rudolph and Delegate Mary-Dulany James, Harford and Cecil counties, the program is available in Harford County. Participating pharmacists are working with patients employed by Upper Chesapeake Health System, the first employer in Harford County to join the program, to help patients better manage their diabetes.

“Trained pharmacists are teaching patients to correctly use blood glucose monitors and providing counseling on ways to help them better control their disease,” said Butch Henderson, a pharmacist with Klein’s Family Markets who is participating in the Maryland P3 Program. “Pharmacists are meeting regularly with patients to review their blood sugar results, discuss their condition, and help guide patients toward their diabetes management goals.”

Upper Chesapeake Health—and other employers who choose to participate—will pay for the costs of the visits and will waive co-payments for diabetes medications and supplies. Their expectation is that their employees in the P3 program will keep themselves healthier and not need more expensive care.

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy provides supplemental training to the pharmacists. Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, has counseled Baltimore-area patients with diabetes for years, and is convinced of the program’s value and effectiveness. “We know that pharmacist counseling helps patients stick to their prescribed medication regimen,” she said, “and better adherence makes for healthier patients. The Maryland P3 Program allows patients to take control of their illness and not let it ruin their lives.”

The School of Pharmacy, working with private employers in other parts of the state, plans to roll out more P3 collaborations in the first quarter of 2008. The Maryland P3 model can be used for other chronic diseases, and in at least one program it will be used for patients with cardiovascular disease.

For more information about the Maryland P3 Program, including how to enroll as a patient or as an employer, contact Christine Lee, PharmD, Maryland P3 network coordinator, at clee@rx.umaryland.edu or at 410-706-6067.