Pharmacy Strives for Drug Safety While Reducing Costs

David B. Snow Jr. has built Medco Health Solutions into an enterprise recognized as one of the world’s most innovative health care companies and a leader in clinically driven pharmacy care.

David B. Snow Jr. has built Medco Health Solutions into an enterprise recognized as one of the world’s most innovative health care companies and a leader in clinically driven pharmacy care.

Medco serves approximately 65 million Americans, including employees and retirees in public and private sector organizations, members of health plans, and seniors nationwide through Medicare. Snow is committed to identifying ways to rid the health care system of financial waste while increasing prescription drug safety. 

His dedication to advancing a wired health care system, evidence-based research in pharmacy, and innovation in the treatment of chronic diseases will harness opportunities that could reduce health care costs by as much as $1 trillion a year. Snow established Medco as the world’s most advanced pharmacy, delivering the safety of unparalleled dispensing accuracy and raising standards for clinical excellence. 

More than one-third of the company’s 3,000 pharmacists are specialists deployed across Medco Therapeutic Resource Centers, providing disease-specific therapy management for patients with chronic and complex diseases—patients who account for 96% of pharmacy spending and 75% of medical costs. 

With nearly 23,000 employees, Medco operations also include Accredo, America’s largest specialty pharmacy; Liberty Medical, a diabetes-care leader; and several international initiatives that leverage Medco’s innovative solutions to transcend geographic, political, and cultural conventions to address health-related quality and cost issues abroad.

To accelerate clinical research into mainstream medical practice, Snow formed the Medco Research Institute. Collaborating with organizations such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, Indiana University School of Medicine, and other leading institutions, Medco is forging the future of health care through prominent research partnerships to demonstrate the value and safety of personalized medicine, where drugs are prescribed and dosages determined based on an individual patient’s unique genetic makeup.

“Medco is at the epicenter of a very big idea in health care. We will continue to expand our footprint beyond the traditional boundaries of a pharmacy benefits manager and forge the future with our pioneering work in pharmacogenomics,” Snow said. “We will advocate for real health care reform that will improve quality, extend access, and fundamentally lower costs. Internally, we will continue our commitment to operational excellence and to making our company more agile and efficient.”

By implementing advanced technologies into their model of pharmacy care, Medco has expanded its safety net for patients with the launch of the Medco Health Store, which  provides a virtual channel to purchase nonprescription products online, while addressing the increasing safety concerns related to interactions between prescription and over-the counter drugs, vitamins, and supplements.

Snow is an outspoken champion of health care reform, and he strives to dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of health care, provide greater transparency, foster accountability, reduce costs, and optimize clinical outcomes to improve the delivery of care to patients.

“I could not be more pleased or proud of Medco’s performance in what is admittedly a pressure-filled environment that sets high expectations and then overachieves,” Snow said. “It’s under these types of demanding situations that our success is even sweeter. By serving our clients and customers, we best serve our own interests.”

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