Steve Melnick, Answers How ACOs Will Impact the Pharmacy Benefit and Medical Costs

Steve Melnick, President, SM Innovations, says that accountable care organizations (ACOs) will impact the pharmacy benefit by moving the healthcare system from a volume-based to a value-based model. By moving to a value-based model, pharmacies will need to build long-term relations with patients and understand how the whole population is managing. Mr Melnick notes that it might be too early to tell if ACOs will impact cost and quality, but there will continue to be funding for experimentation and development.

"Ultimately what we'd like to see are models that improve cost, improve quality, and improve patient satisfaction," said Melnick.