An American Journal of Managed Care® Supplement Hyperlipidemia: Effective Disease Management to Decrease Economic and Quality of Life Burden

Target Audience
This activity is intended for managed care payers, pharmacy directors, pharmacy benefit managers, specialty pharmacy directors, and any other pharmacist and/or healthcare professional interested in the prevalence of hyperlipidemia and opportunities to optimize care of patients with elevated cholesterol using a more aggressive treatment approach.

Pharmacists and those seeking pharmacy credits are encouraged to register with our partner, Pharmacy Times Continuing Education www.pharmacytimes.org for the online version of this supplement at: www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/hyperlipidemia-effective-disease-management-to-decrease-economic-and-quality-of-life-burden.

Activity Overview
Recently, significant reductions were made to align the PCSK9 inhibitors with cost-effectiveness parameters. However, despite the pricing of PCSK9 agents becoming more in line with cost-effectiveness criteria, significant barriers to physician prescribing, payer approval, and patient adherence still exist. The barriers for PCSK9 inhibitor use were insurer processes, provider documentation, and administrative burden. This activity will help managed care professionals become more aware of the prevalence of hyperlipidemia and opportunities to optimize care of patients with elevated cholesterol using a more aggressive treatment approach. Managed care professionals need to understand how management of hypercholesterolemia in cardiovascular disease can prevent cardiac complications later and develop managed care protocols to support the use of effective treatment that reflects recent revisions to the most used treatment guideline

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, you should be better able to:

Explain the prevalence of patients who present with hyperlipidemia and quality-of-life challenges.
Identify guideline recommendations, updates in clinical data, and new and emerging PCSK9 inhibitors.
Examine healthcare costs associated with hyperlipidemia.
Explore strategies that support current best practices and new therapies to help mitigate healthcare utilization costs associated with disease progression and poor treatment response.