Salard appointed to Alaska Medicaid committee

Alaska Island Community Services’ Tideline Clinic physician Greg Salard has been named by Governor Sean Parnell’s office to the Alaska Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Committee for a three-year term beginning Nov. 1.

Salard said he volunteered for the spot on the committee in order to assist his community – and to help move Medicare policy forward from within a state organization.

“I have always wanted to help my community and my state, and at this point I can do that,” Salard said. “I know there are some problems in the Medicaid drug program and even though they have to save money, there are still certain things that have to be done to best serve the patient.”

One of the problems Salard cited is Medicaid’s “prior authorization” directive to physicians across the country.

“Prior authorization is a problem sometimes because if a doctor writes a script for certain medications, the insurance company or Medicaid will tell you that you have to use a different medication or try other medications before you use a particular one you might think is better for your patient,” Salard said.

Salard added that sometimes such directives are a good idea – and sometimes not.

“Sometimes it helps the patient because they know of a drug that is better, and they try to steer you into using that one,” Salard added. “But sometimes, it’s just about money.”

Alaska Medicaid’s Drug Utilization Review program was developed in order to comply with the federal requirements set forth in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. Both federal and Alaska state law require reviews. The State of Alaska contracts with Xerox State Healthcare to conduct the DUR program.

During Federal Fiscal Year 2009, the committee reviewed an average of 77 profiles each meeting and generated 908 letters to prescribers addressing one or more of twelve therapeutic classes, including muscle relaxants, CNS stimulants and narcotic analgesics.