UCSF links with CalPERS, Blue Shield on pharmacy program

A diabetes-care program designed by clinical pharmacy faculty in the UCSF School of Pharmacy Center for Self-Care has just launched in Northern California as a service for members of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) with Blue Shield health coverage. Under the pilot program, CalPERS members with type 2 diabetes can meet with specially trained pharmacists at a Raley’s, Bel Air or Nob Hill Foods pharmacy to discuss medication use and diabetes self-management techniques. Members will be offered five regularly scheduled pharmacist visits within a 12-month period, in which they can receive consultations, as well as a medication action plan and personal medication record to track and manage their disease, medications and therapies, and to identify potential risk factors. The pilot is based on prior work by Center for Self-Care faculty, which showed a clear patient benefit from regular consultations with community pharmacists. The center will remain involved in the program, providing ongoing clinical training and analysis of the pilot program results.

http://www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/press/pr-2010/july/joint-diabetes-pilot-program.xml