Frequently Asked Questions

What does the program do for a self-insured company?

It saves a self-insured company tens of thousands of dollars in health costs by preventing and managing costly illnesses and avoiding medication misuse.  The savings can be even more, depending on the number of employees.

How does it work?

Our team of clinical pharmacists, nurses and technicians bring our services to the company’s worksite.  We screen employees for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, and more.  We review each employee’s current medication regimen.  And we intervene immediately to improve detected issues of medication cost, formulary usage rates, drug interaction concerns, or suboptimal therapies.  We also help the employee prevent costly illnesses by fostering a healthy lifestyle.
The clinician meets regularly – even every week if needed - with employees to monitor their health and medication use.

What about employee privacy?

Information shared between the clinician and the employee is held in the strictest of confidence.  Employee information is not shared with the company and will only be disclosed to the employee’s physician after the employee has given written permission.

Is this a new program?  Is it proven?

Our program is one of the first of its kind anywhere in the country.  But there are other, similar programs in development right now, because the initial success rates have been so impressive.  For one of our companies, the program showed a 6% decrease in the per member per month prescription costs in the first quarter of interventions.  That added up to a projected annual savings over $20,000 in direct prescription costs alone. 
The program increased generic and preferred drug utilization dramatically.  Use ofgeneric medications increased by more than 25% in one medication class.  This translates it to large dollar savings.

Does it save the employer money on any health costs other than prescription costs?

Yes, it can save money on doctor’s office visits, hospital admissions, employee absenteeism, worker’s compensation, and more.  The program promotes ongoing cost savings across the full range of health costs, and over time those savings can be substantial.  The program works hard to improve employee health and awareness by promoting healthy lifestyles, checking blood pressure and cholesterol control, and promoting weight reduction.  Monthly group education programs can provide instruction and encouragement to employees.  These are in addition to regular, periodic individual assessments.

What about high-risk employees, the ones that can cost a self-insured company tens of thousands of dollars in a single case?

The program specifically targets and closely monitors high-risk employees such as diabetics, those with high blood pressure, asthma, and heart disease.  These employees are generally spending 80% of the health care dollars and we work to keep those cost as low as possible through getting the most from medications, preventing hospital or emergency room visits, and keeping the employee as healthy as possible.

Who is Causey’s Pharmacy Services?

Causey’s Pharmacy Services is “The Next Step in Personal Pharmacy Care.”  Causey’s Pharmacy Services is the clinical division for Causey’s Pharmacy.  Causey’s Pharmacy has offered exceptional pharmacy servces for over 25 years.  Pharmacy Services takes pharmacy to a new progressive level using a clinical pharmacist full-time to provide medication and disease management services to patients. LeAnn Causey, Pharm.D., CDM, serves as the Director of Clinical Services.  Dr. Causey completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Louisiana Monroe and a Primary Care Residency at the University of Mississippi.  Dr. Causey has extensive experience in managing medications and key disease states such as diabetes, cholesterol, asthma, and hypertension.  Dr. Causey commits 100% of her time to working with individuals on a one-to-one basis.

How are the program’s results substantiated?  What kind of hard data supports the program’s effectiveness?

The program’s efficiency is carefully tracked and reported backed to the company.  Using sophisticated cost-projection figures and techniques,  estimated health costs that would have likely been incurred  without the program’s intervention are calculated.  These claims are thoroughly reviewed and substantiated by an independent third party to ensure validity.

Does the program have a track record?

In the program’s largest intervention to date—for a company of over 1,000 employees - the first nine-month health costs savings are estimated at over $60,000.  And that’s only for the first nine months.

What are the costs for a self-insured company to implement the program?

The program can be tailored to the individual needs of the specific employer group and therefore cost will vary among companies.  The cost is determined based on the amount of time the clinician needs to monitor employees effectively on-site at the company which can range from four hours to forty hours a week. 

What is a real-life example of the program at work?

            One employee with diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol was using multiple medications of which two were considered non-preferred on the patient’s formulary.  Non-preferred medications tend to cost the employee and the company a great deal more.  Causey worked with the physician to modify the employee’s medcation and provided follow-up assessment to monitor the changes.  Through this formulary intervention, Causey saved the employee $60.38 per month and the employer saved $27.76 per month.  This provided a total savings of $1,057.68 per year.

In addition to formulary interventions, Causey has also helped to identify serious undetected health situations for many employees.  One employee presented to Causey with an elevated blood pressure of 200/122 mmHg which placed the employee at high-risk for a stroke.  Causey detected the problem and made arrangements for the employee to receive urgent care.  The employee continues to be a productive employee for the employer group.