Northwell Health eyes $12 million in savings through new in-house pharmacy service for employees

Credit: Northwell Health

Northwell Health continues to shore up its operations and independence, announcing that its specialty pharmacy service, known as Vivo Health, will now support Northwell employees as well. The system has launched a prescription medication mail order program, which will serve the more than 66,000 eligible employees who work for Northwell Health.

Currently, Vivo Health provides services at a number of Northwell hospitals and ambulatory facilities, as well as a 24-hour clinical call center. The Northwell-owned pharmacy will provide prescription coverage for employees in eligible insurance plans starting August 1.

The move means Northwell Health, which is self-insured, will replace their existing provider Express Scripts. The system said the decision was made in the interest of cutting costs and making the delivery of medication to better manage chronic diseases more efficient.

Northwell Health said they expect to save $12 million annually was a result of the change. Vivo Health has already been providing on-site and mail order pharmacy services to Northwell patients for almost a decade via pharmacies at eight Northwell locations in New York.

"Our employees should see a higher quality of care as a result of bringing their prescription medication management under the Northwell umbrella," said Onisis Stefas Pharm.D, Northwell's chief pharmacy officer. "The new facility will allow for the highest level of accuracy through automation and faster delivery to ensure anyone suffering from a chronic medical condition never has to worry about running out of a potentially life-saving drug."

Vivo Health will handle the increased volume in part through a new 15,000-square-foot fulfillment facility. Built to optimize efficiency, it is equipped  with custom software, productivity workflows, smart shipping solutions and two pharmacy robots capable of automatically preparing more than 340 types of medication. The center will help Vivo fulfill roughly 500 prescriptions per day to start.  Northwell employees will still have the option to fill acute-care prescriptions at other pharmacies.

 "With this robotic pharmacy technology and automated shipping services, we're now able to offer the same high level of mail-order prescription services to our own 66,000 employees - at a savings of $12 million a year because we're doing it ourselves," said Mark Solazzo, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Northwell. 

Vivo Health Pharmacy is fully accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission, a designation of which less than one percent of pharmacies nationwide can attest, Northwell Health said. Specialty pharmacies serve those with complex and/or chronic illnesses that require medication that is expensive and difficult to access.

Northwell Health is New York State's largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 665 outpatient facilities and more than 18,500 affiliated physicians. The system cares for more than 2 million people each year.

Northwell also recently took on food insecurity in an effort to better care for patients and reduce costly readmissions. Their Food as Health program is being implemented first at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, where the system said one in five patients is food insecure. There are plans to start the program at other Northwell facilities. The system is tracking the effect of the program on things such as readmission rates and will use the results to steer the program's future operations.

Under the program, patients who have a diagnosis that is affected by nutrition are screened for possible food insecurity. When discharged, they're given a two-day supply of fresh produce and non-perishable food and a "prescription" for two refills. Delivery service is provided for patients with transportation challenges and even cooking assistance is offered through a partner organization. Patients also receive a nutrition consultation.

Social determinants of health are fast becoming a hot-button issue, with other systems rolling out efforts to address them for a more holistic approach to population health and better outcomes. Kaiser Permanente has recently initiated programs to address homelessness and gun violence injury and death prevention.

Twitter: @BethJSanborn
Email the writer: beth.sanborn@himssmedia.com