A Drug Utilization Review is conducted by TELUS Health Solutions in real-time when prescription medications are dispensed to plan members. Each prescription drug is reviewed against a series of critieria, based on the plan member's medical drug history within the last 100 days, to be sure the prescription drug isn't being taken inappropriately. Checks are performed against all pharmacies where the plan member has used their drug card.

Drug Utilization Reviews help pharmacists fulfill their professional responsibility and ensure that medication is dispensed safely. It also assists in monitoring compliance with the physician's intended drug regimen. When possible harmful drug interactions are detected, alternative drug therapies may be recommended after discussions with the prescribing physician. This may take the form of dosage adjustments, alteration of medication administration and/or additional patient monitoring.

Drug Utilization Reviews help ensure patient health, safety and compliance. The benefits of this service are many, including:

• Protects patients from possible harmful drug interactions and harmful duplicate therapies
• Detects and reduces the number of inappropriately used medications and non-compliance to prescribed regimens
• Tracks and identifies over-consumption and under-consumption
• Detects fraud and prescription drug abuse
• Checks against the plan member's drug claim profile and therefore provides a more comprehensive review
• Claims are processed by TELUS Health Solutions from anywhere in Canada allowing for real-time checks while away on vacation or business trips