By working together, IPM and LifePath are hoping to encourage better health outcomes and expand access to care for nearly 1,500 patients in the Collin County service area.
Fresno, CA (February 17, 2022) – Integrated Prescription Management (IPM), a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) company, has announced a collaboration with LifePath Systems to build out an onsite pharmacy for underserved patients with behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities within Collin County, Texas.
According to the 2021 State of Mental Health America (MHA) report, Texas ranks 27 out of 51 for adults with any mental illness and 50 out of 51 in overall access to mental health care. By working together, IPM and LifePath are hoping to encourage better health outcomes and expand access to care for nearly 1,500 patients in the Collin County service area.
Traditionally, patients who suffer from behavioral health and intellectual challenges face healthcare barriers such as transportation, inadequate insurance coverage, home stability and homelessness. Often, this leads to poor medication compliance and health outcomes. By collaborating with a PBM in conjunction with providing a full-service pharmacy at the clinic level, IPM and LifePath are working to improve health outcomes and expand access in a region with some of the lowest access to care in the state.
“Health inequity is a big topic for us as a nation. There are dozens of initiatives at the university and organization level focused on closing the gap, with an emphasis in markets experiencing declining rates for both access and health outcomes,” said Melissa Hawkins, chief of market development at IPM. “We’ve developed specialized programs for clinics like LifePath to provide insights, tools and access to manage this population and assist with the inequity puzzle – especially in markets like Collin County, which is a large coverage area, and access is the difference between compliance, and therefore, successful health outcomes.”
IPM leveraged its vast retail pharmacy network, customizable programming solutions and years of expertise to provide a customized program and establish the buildout of the pharmacy in Plano, Texas. This included obtaining licensing, procuring inventory, and training staff. Additionally, IPM will work with partners at the county and state level to help control drug spend, provide actionable reporting, and implement cost-saving programming such as flexibility with plan design and implementation, as well as training on successful Patient Assistance Programs (PAP). It will also encourage the use of data for benefit design changes, while using an account management model that supports, educates, trains cross-care teams, streamlines programming and gives clinics access to the actionable data.
“We’re pleased to provide support in LifePath Systems’ goal to expand access to care and improve patient outcomes with a convenient onsite pharmacy and wrapping that model with retail networking,” said Hawkins. “This is just one of the many ways IPM collaborates with our clients to meet their unique needs and transforms the pharmacy and PBM experience.”
IPM currently provides a unique blend of services for cost containment to more than 150 counties throughout the state of Texas.
About IPM
Integrated Prescription Management (IPM) is a full-service, middle market PBM that works with self-funded employer groups, brokers, TPAs, and behavioral health facilitates around the country. Founded in 2009, IPM provides high-touch service, insightful analytics, and strategic cost-management solutions. The company earned a Silver Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year and is a four-time honoree on Inc. 5000’s List of Fastest Growing Private Companies. IPM is headquartered in Fresno, CA with regional offices in Dallas, TX and Atlanta, GA.
About LifePath Systems
LifePath Systems is one of thirty- nine local behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities authorities across the state of Texas. Established in 1986 by the Collin County Commissioners Court, LifePath Systems is a unit of local government and a not-for-profit center. The organization receives federal, state, and local funding to provide essential mental health, substance use, intellectual and developmental disability services to families and individuals.
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