History of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is the professional association that helps patients get the medications they need at a cost they can afford. AMCP’s diverse membership of pharmacists, physicians, nurses, biopharmaceutical professionals, and other stakeholders leverage their clinical evidence and economics expertise to optimize medication benefit design and population health management and help patients access cost-effective and safe medications and other drug therapies. AMCP members improve the lives of nearly 300 million Americans served by private and public health plans, pharmacy benefit management firms, and emerging care models.
In 1988, eight visionary pharmacists came together at the RPR Kellogg Institute at Northwestern University to discuss the urgent need to create and establish a professional organization for managed care pharmacists. Working quickly to make this a reality, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) was formed in 1988.
Between 1993 and 1995, AMCP expanded its role as a professional association serving managed care pharmacists. The Academy became accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education in 1995. More publications were produced, including the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, Principles and Practices of Managed Care Pharmacy, and the Experiential Learning Manual. Several programs were developed, such as the Ambassador Program, AMCP/Parke-Davis Summer Internship Program, the FMCP-sponsored Management Development Program in conjunction with the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, a program on Principles and Practices of Managed Care Pharmacy, and an educational conference for AMCP members held in Anaheim, California. In addition, AMCP became further involved in political affairs by joining the Coalition on Health Care Reform to address the national health reform debates of 1994 and bringing several AMCP members to Capitol Hill for the first annual Lobby Day.
Between 1996 and 1998, AMCP:
Developed of the Diplomat Program
Established the Pharmacy Quality Council by the Board of Directors
Founded AMCP student chapters on seven campuses
Published AMCP's Dedication to Quality Education, the Catalog of Quality Indicators, the Weekly News
Launched AMCP's website and Fax on Demand
Held the 10th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, the Academy's membership more than tripled by the middle of 1997 to 4,048 members.
The 2000s became a decade of increased productivity at AMCP. During the decade, AMCP:
- Became a charter member of the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy; created a Professional Policy Digest
- Established a working partnership with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists to accredit managed care pharmacy one-year, entry-level residencies and jointly developed the standards by which the programs would be accredited
- Co-edited a textbook entitled “Managed Care Pharmacy Practice,” published by Aspen Publications.
Furthermore, the Academy created the Corporate Member Council as a forum for corporate and individual members to explore issues of mutual concern. It established an Awards strategy to recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to the Academy and the profession.
To educate AMCP members and legislators, the Academy has created multiple “Where We Stand” publications on government relations issues that are relevant to the Academy. The publications also explained various problems in the clinical practice of managed care pharmacy.
In 2000, the Academy created the Format for Formulary Submissions, a standardized methodology for scientifically assessing drugs based on their value. The Format has become a de facto industry standard, widely adopted by numerous health plans, governmental agencies such as the Department of Defense, and leading pharmacy benefit management companies. Managed care organizations employing the Format cover approximately half of all pharmacy care beneficiaries. The Format was significantly revised in 2009. The Academy's Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy (FMCP) offers training sessions on the Format.
In 2005, spurred by the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA's) inclusion of the medication therapy management (MTM) requirement, AMCP and other organizations recognized a lack of clear definition of what specific elements would constitute a sound MTM program.
To fill that gap, AMCP assembled a variety of stakeholder organizations that served as a working group to build a consensus document that would define those elements. The Academy issued the consensus document, Sound Medication Therapy Management Programs, in April 2006. In late 2006, AMCP undertook a project to validate the content of that document in the marketplace. AMCP coordinated the project components and the work of the project's advisory panel. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) performed the project's fieldwork under contract to the Academy. The final product, Version 2.0, helped stimulate public policy discussion, aided in the evolution of sound MTM programs, enhanced patient care, and encouraged the efficient use of healthcare resources dedicated to these programs.
Two other significant contributions to managed care practice included AMCP's Guide to Pharmaceutical Payment Methods and Sound Medication Therapy Management Programs, V2.0. Initially released in 2007 and updated in 2009, the Guide is a comprehensive, factual description and analysis of alternative drug payment methods and systems. The Guide includes a review of the history, current application, potential future utility, impact on managed care pharmacy, other stakeholders in the pharmaceutical marketplace, and the overall healthcare delivery system. It also includes a glossary of payment terms, tables showing which payers and settings utilize which methods, payment flowcharts to illustrate how the money flows with each payment system, and examples of payment calculations. Downloadable in a summary and a comprehensive format from the AMCP website, it is accompanied by a web-based interactive resource library.
In 2008, the Academy engaged Milliman, Inc. as an independent third party to collect quantitative and qualitative rebate cost impact information from several large Medicare Part D program administrators and report summaries of that data. The report showed that US taxpayers could pay an unnecessary $511 million per year to support the “six classes” stipulation in Medicare Part D. In 2010, AMCP and Dymaxium Healthcare Innovations, Ltd. launched the AMCP dossier System Pilot Program. This powerful electronic dossier system promises to revolutionize how healthcare decision-makers access and evaluate information needed to make evidence-based formulary decisions.
In addition to developing and offering multiple information resources and services, AMCP hosts two annual national meetings, attracting roughly 4,000 Academy members and other healthcare stakeholders. Furthermore, dozens of student pharmacists each year get the opportunity to experience managed care pharmacy first-hand through AMCP and the AMCP Foundation's highly competitive and prestigious intern and externship programs.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy is proud to be an organization whose members share the goal of ensuring positive healthcare outcomes through quality, accessible, and affordable pharmaceutical care.
