CAPP Physician Group: HENRY FORD MEDICAL GROUP
Project: Auto Manufacturer Care Innovation Collaborative: E-PRESCRIBING

Summary: Another initiative that emerged from the Auto Manufacturer Care Innovation Collaborative between Henry Ford Health System and the Big Three is the process of tracking and monitoring prescriptions to ensure that drug prescribing was safe and correct, as well as to increase the use of generic drugs. The program resulted in $4 million in annual savings by reducing adverse drug interaction and administrative costs, and increasing the use of generics.

In February 2005, Henry Ford Medical Group and Health Alliance Plan (HAP) piloted an electronic prescribing initiative at the request of General Motors, Ford Motor, and DaimlerChrysler, with the objective of cutting prescription costs and improving quality. After implementing a computerize prescription system called e-Prescribing, Henry Ford Medical Group clinicians, for both auto and non-auto company patients, have changed or cancelled more than:

• 200,000 prescriptions based on drug-to-drug interaction warnings
• 15,000 prescriptions due to drug/allergy warnings
• 80,000 prescriptions due to formulary warnings

In addition, the generic use rate improved from 56.7% to 71% for HAP patients. In the first full year, the program resulted in $4 million in savings for HFMG and HAP because of reduced adverse events and administrative costs and increased generic use.

The 60-physician pilot was so successful e-Prescribing quickly became a Henry Ford Health System-wide initiative. Currently, more than 800 medical group primary and specialty care physicians use the program across 26 medical sites as a supplement to their electronic medical records, which Henry Ford has been using for nearly 20 years. Virtually all pharmacies in southeastern Michigan are now networked to this system. On average, 31,000 prescriptions are written through the program each week. To date, more than 2.6 million prescriptions have been ordered through e-Prescribing by physicians.

The automakers are using the success of the project to jump-start e-Prescribing in southeast Michigan, working with other physician groups to adopt e-prescribing.

For more information about this project, contact Dr. Bruce Muma, Henry Ford Medical Group, (586) 247-2670 ; Matt Walsh, Health Alliance Plan, (313) 664-8103.

“Obama Visits Clinic Known for Quality Care, Controlling Costs,” by David Brown, The Washington Post, July 23, 2009

The Post takes a more in-depth look at The Cleveland Clinic, a CAPP medical group, that was touted by President Obama as a model of health care efficiency and quality.

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“Yes, models for cost-efficient health care do exist,” by Jim Landers, The Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2009

CAPP group Scott & White is featured in this article that reviews some of the Dartmouth findings on organizations that can curb health care costs.

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“Atul Gawande: The Cost Conundrum Redux,” by Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, June 23, 2009.

Gawande responds to the skeptics of his highly publicized New Yorker article.

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“The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas town can teach us about health care,” by Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, June 01, 2009

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