PENSACOLA, Fla. - Starting May 1, TRICARE will screen all ingredients in compound drug claims at retail pharmacies to ensure they are safe and effective for TRICARE beneficiaries.
The screening will also ensure that all components of the compound drug are properly covered by TRICARE.
Compound drugs are a combination of drug ingredients prepared by a pharmacist for a patient’s individual needs. Compounding is a common pharmacy practice and many compound drugs will continue to be covered by TRICARE. While some ingredients commonly found in compact drugs are reviewed for safety and efficiency by the Federal Drug Administration, many compounds also contain ingredients that are not proven to be safe.
The use of compound drugs has increased greatly in recent years. As the use of compound drugs has increased, so too has the cost of compound drugs. The average cost of compound drugs paid by the Department of Defense has risen from an average of $170 per prescription in early FY2012 to $2,135 in early FY2015 according to the Defense Health Agency, which manages TRICARE.
If a compound drug does not pass an initial screen by Express Scripts, the TRICARE pharmacy contactor, there are several options available to beneficiaries. The pharmacist can switch a non-approved ingredient with an approved one or request the doctor write a new prescription. If this is not possible, the doctor may ask Express Scripts to consider other evidence by requesting a prior authorization.
The Defense Health Agency’s highest priority is to provide TRICARE beneficiaries safe and effective care while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. Many compound drugs will still be covered because they include ingredients proven to be safe and effective. For more information about TRICARE coverage of compound drugs, please visit www.tricare.mil/CompoundDrugs.
| Date Taken: | 03.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.19.2015 08:47 |
| Story ID: | 157469 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 187 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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