Issues and Concerns of Managed Care Pharmacy Directors: Results of a National Survey

OBJECTIVE: To assess perceived importance of drug use review (OUR), pharmacoeconomic analyses, formulary design, and patient-oriented pharmacy services for future academic initiatives in managed care pharmacy. DESIGN: Mailed survey. SETTING: Not applicable. PARTICIPANTS: 405 managed care pharmacy directors. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage of respondents identifying the importance of the topics. RESULTS: A response rate of 59.5% was achieved; 81% of the respondents thought CE programs related to specific topics would be valuable to persons in their positions. The longer the respondents held their present positions, the less likely such programs considered to be valuable. Pharmacists placed more emphasis than did non-pharmacists on topics related to traditional pharmacy practice in managed care settings. These topics included OUR: formulary design, patient-oriented pharmacy services, communication skills, legal issues, and employee benefit program design. CONCLUSION: It is v...