This study is an update to the 2013 WCRI study that examined the early results of Georgia’s reform using pre- and post-reform data. With an additional year of data, the study found that there was little change in the prevalence of physician dispensing in the second post-reform period. The study also found Georgia’s changes to the reimbursement rules for physician-dispensed drugs reduced the average price per pill paid for most of the drugs commonly dispensed by physicians. However, the post-reform prices paid for physician-dispensed drugs were still higher than the prices paid to pharmacies for the same drug.   

The data used in this analysis of Georgia’s pharmacy fee schedule reform came from payors in Georgia that represented 46 percent of the claims in the state workers’ compensation system. The pre-reform data consist of claims from 3,851 injured workers with more than one week of lost time. These claims arose between April 1, 2010, and September 30, 2010, with 24,672 prescriptions filled through March 31, 2011. The data for the first post-reform period consist of 3,960 claims that arose between April 1, 2011, and September 30, 2011, with 24,925 prescriptions filled through March 31, 2012. The data for the second post-reform period consist of 4,164 claims that arose between April 1, 2012, and September 30, 2012, with 25,325 prescriptions filled through March 31, 2013.

Impact of Physician Dispensing Reform in Georgia, 2nd Edition. Dongchun Wang, Te-Chun Liu, and Vennela Thumula. September 2014. WC-14-50.

Copyright: WCRI