AdvancePCS Client Principles Launched at Annual Client Conference; Board of Directors Reaffirms and Adopts Principles.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2003 AdvancePCS (Nasdaq:ADVP) today announced it has published and distributed the AdvancePCS Client Principles, a reaffirmation re·af·firm tr.v. re·af·firmed, re·af·firm·ing, re·af·firms To affirm or assert again. re of five business standards that guide the company's conduct and relationship with its clients. AdvancePCS issued the principles during last weekend's client conference, the theme of which was "Achieving the Balance: Working Together to Improve Care and Reduce Costs." As well, the AdvancePCS Board of Directors reviewed and formally adopted the principles at a board meeting last week. "The rising costs in health care pose a very complex problem for the nation. It is critical that as we partner with our clients to navigate (1) "Surfing the Web." To move from page to page on the Web. (2) To move through the menu structure in a software application. this challenging environment, AdvancePCS, from the board level down, is strongly committed to solid business principles," said David D. Halbert, AdvancePCS chairman and chief executive officer. "It is important to note that this is not a change in our practice, but rather is a public reaffirmation of our longstanding principles." "We believe that not only do these longstanding, solid business principles not only generate measurable and sustained value for our clients, but they also are designed to comply with government regulations," added Halbert. The five business principles, upon which AdvancePCS' programs for clients have been built and currently operate, are: Clinical Integrity; Cost Efficacy; Choice; Rebate rebate, partial refund of the total price paid for goods or services. In the United States, rebates were historically given by railroads to favored shippers as a return on transportation charges. Ownership and Aligned Interests. The company's practices underlying these principles are outlined detailed below and can also be found in pdf format at www.advancepcs.com. The AdvancePCS Client Principles We work on behalf of our clients to help manage prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, costs and enhance quality of care for their members. Our clients can have confidence that as their health improvement partner, we remain committed to the strongest business principles: Clinical Integrity AdvancePCS develops clinical recommendations through independent, expert evaluation. The AdvancePCS formulary formulary /for·mu·lary/ (for´mu-lar?e) a collection of recipes, formulas, and prescriptions. National Formulary see under N. for·mu·lar·y n. is developed through an independent Pharmacy An independent pharmacy is a retail pharmacy that is not directly affiliated with any chain pharmacy, such as CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens or Eckerd. However, owners of independent pharmacies will often form alliances with other independents and use their power in numbers to bargain for and Therapeutics therapeutics Treatment and care to combat disease or alleviate pain or injury. Its tools include drugs, surgery, radiation therapy, mechanical devices, diet, and psychiatry. Committee of physicians and pharmacists This is a list of notable pharmacists.
Cost Efficacy We encourage clinically appropriate, cost-effective cost-effective, n the minimal expenditure of dollars, time, and other elements necessary to achieve the health care result deemed necessary and appropriate. generic or brand drug selection. AdvancePCS creates a focused Performance Drug List (PDL See page description language. 1. PDL - Page Description Language. 2. PDL - Program Design Language. 3. PDL - Push Down List. 4. PDL - Dave Lebling, one of the co-authors of Zork. ) that is a subset A group of commands or functions that do not include all the capabilities of the original specification. Software or hardware components designed for the subset will also work with the original. of our formulary and drives to the lowest net cost for each therapeutic class among clinically equivalent or similar products. We offer our clients the broadest range of sophisticated tools that encourage selection of these low-net-cost drugs. We actively encourage substitution Substitution Arsinoë put her own son in place of Orestes; her son was killed and Orestes was saved. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 32] Barabbas robber freed in Christ’s stead. [N.T.: Matthew 27:15–18; Swed. Lit. of PDL drugs, which always include generics when available, appropriate and cost-effective. Choice We operate on a permission-based platform. We will not contact physicians regarding prescription alternatives if a member or client does not want us to do so and we always respect the prescribing authority of medical professionals. We use our market relevance to offer the broadest range of sophisticated benefit management programs that work through all channels available to encourage appropriate selection of drugs -- including electronic, mail, phone, fax, point-of-care and web-based technologies, as well as face-to-face meetings. Our clients then approve which programs we implement on their behalf. Rebate Ownership At AdvancePCS, all rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers belong to our clients, who pay the health care bill. We treat rebates as the property of our clients, and not as revenue to the company. When our clients choose to pay us for services through a share of their rebates, that payment is a fee from our client and not a payment from the manufacturer. We offer full disclosure on the rebate amounts invoiced, collected and paid. Clients may audit these amounts -- down to the transaction level. Aligned Interests AdvancePCS builds business relationships that align align (  līn),v to move the teeth into their proper positions to conform to the line of occlusion. with the interests of our clients. For example, we allow manufacturers to provide reasonable funding for certain client programs if they benefit our clients and encourage the use of more clinically appropriate, cost-effective drugs. We disclose the receipt of such funding to our clients. Our clients approve participation in these programs. Through this approach we can deliver better patient care, achieve cost-effective utilization, and provide our clients these benefits at no additional charge. About AdvancePCS AdvancePCS (www.advancepcs.com) is the nation's largest independent provider of health improvement services, touching the lives of more than 75 million health plan members and managing approximately $28 billion in annual prescription drug spending. AdvancePCS offers health plans a wide range of health improvement products and services designed to improve the quality of care delivered to health plan members and manage costs. The company's capabilities include integrated mail service and retail pharmacy pharmacy, art of compounding and dispensing drugs and medication. The term is also applied to an establishment used for such purposes. Until modern times medication was prepared and dispensed by the physician himself. In the 18th cent. networks, innovative clinical services, customized disease management programs, specialty pharmacy, outcomes research, information management, prescription drug services for the uninsured and online health information for consumers. AdvancePCS clients include Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. organizations, insurance companies and HMOs, Fortune 500 employers, Taft-Hartley groups, state and local governments and other health plan sponsors. AdvancePCS is ranked by Fortune magazine as one of America's 100 fastest-growing public companies and is included on the Forbes Platinum 400 list of best big companies. AdvancePCS earned the number two spot on the Barron's 500 list of best-performing companies. |
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