URAC offers the only third-party, voluntary accreditation program of this scope for pharmacy benefit management and prescription services industry. All standards were developed by URAC’s Pharmacy Advisory Committee, which includes a wide range of stakeholders: employers, consumers, pharmacy consultants, health plans, retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefit management organizations, pharmacy professional organizations; labor, and large public purchasing groups.

“These new accreditation programs are the next step in a comprehensive strategy to create standards that address the broad scope of pharmacy benefit management practice,” said John Jones, RPh, JD, vice president of professional practice and pharmacy policy at Prescription Solutions and chairman of URAC’s Pharmacy Benefits Management Advisory Committee. “Organizations that specialize in these market segments will now have an opportunity to align their quality practices with industry-recognized standards and demonstrate their commitment to quality.”

Mail Service Pharmacy is generally used by individuals who require maintenance medications for chronic conditions and prefer to receive their maintenance medications in larger than 30 day supply. Patients are able to take advantage of delivery directly to their home and the convenience of ordering prescription drugs using the mail; online web access; by phone; or via fax from their physician’s office. Over the past 10-years, mail service pharmacies have represented the fastest growing distribution channel for prescription drugs. Continued growth in this market sector is expected as mail service pharmacy is seen as a means of helping to control costs and increase savings in prescription drug costs. Currently, mail service pharmacies represent almost 20% of prescription drug fills. URAC made the decision to develop a Mail Service Pharmacy accreditation program because it is one of the key distribution channels for pharmacy benefit management and extends URAC’s consumer protection and empowerment efforts in managed care pharmacy.

The URAC accreditation program design for Mail Service Pharmacy is as follows (see Mail Service Factsheet for list of standards):

• Module 1: Core Organizational Quality Standards
• Module 2: Customer Service, Communications, and Disclosure Standards
• Module 3: Mail Drug Management Standards
• Module 4: Pharmacy Operations Standards