AMCP Executive Forum Identifies Top Steps to Chart Path for Better Worker Health

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 50 top executives from large U.S. companies and health plans attending a national forum yesterday identified key steps that businesses should take to improve workforce health and increase productivity, including designing benefits that engage workers in employer/employee partnerships to maximize preventive care.

The executives participated in the Employee Health Benefits Executive Forum hosted by the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) in partnership with the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI), a leading research organization focusing on employee health and productivity. The event was sponsored by AbbVie, MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc., Novo Nordisk, Inc., and Pfizer Inc.

Participants, who included representatives of the National Governors Association and several national and regional business coalitions, examined best practices and other strategies to boost employee health in the face of a chronic disease epidemic and rising health care costs. Recommendations included continuing efforts to better integrate medical and pharmacy therapy; utilizing data to predict worker health care needs; and recognizing that a return-on-investment from health care expenditures may be cumulative over a period of years rather than immediate.

"The seriousness of the situation cannot be overstated," said AMCP CEO Edith A. Rosato, RPh, IOM. "Government data show the majority of workers today have two or more chronic conditions that must be controlled. This is a wake-up call to employers. The steps that we identified at this Forum will help employers improve worker health, increase their productivity and boost business performance."

The Forum started with keynote speaker Scott Gottlieb, MD, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs. Gottlieb's address touched on the economic and technological forces driving the transformation of health care.

The event also featured three panel sessions of executives and experts from large companies and research organizations who offered their perspectives on health and productivity in the workforce, how they manage chronic diseases, and how the use of pharmaceuticals can be seen as an investment. The luncheon speaker was Nancy McGee, Executive Vice President at Avalere Health, who shared her experience in helping self-insured employers understand and manage their health care spending. 

The Forum will produce a report summary and list of key recommendations, which will be available on AMCP's website in the coming weeks. 

IBI's President and Co-founder Dr. Tom Parry underscored the imperative of employers to maintain a healthy workforce. "Successful business performance today depends more than ever on having highly competitive, highly skilled and highly productive employees," he said. "As U.S. businesses pour billions into capital improvements and infrastructure, we need to make sure they are focusing sufficient resources on improving the health of their human capital as well."

About AMCP 
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is a national professional association of pharmacists and other health care practitioners who serve society by the application of sound medication management principles and strategies to improve health care for all. The Academy's 7,000 members develop and provide a diversified range of clinical, educational and business management services and strategies on behalf of the more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed care pharmacy benefit. www.amcp.org.

Contact:
Neal Learner
[email protected] 
703-684-2611 

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SOURCE Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy

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http://www.amcp.org