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Pediatric pharmacist urges Medicaid recognition of medication management after pilot shows fewer hospitalizations
Summary
A pediatric pharmacist testified that specialized pharmacist involvement in ambulatory care reduced hospitalizations in a New Jersey pilot and that pharmacists are not currently recognized as providers under New Jersey Medicaid, urging reimbursement through New Jersey Family Care for comprehensive medication management for certain children.
Jenna Quinn, a pediatric pharmacist who identified herself as founder of Perfecting Peds and a practitioner at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Cooper University, urged the Assembly Health Committee to recognize and reimburse pediatric pharmacists for comprehensive medication management under New Jersey Family Care.
Quinn summarized training pathways for pediatric pharmacists and cited a 2023 USP report she described as showing 31% of pediatric prescriptions contain errors. She said her pilot work in New Jersey with approximately 400 children demonstrated a 44% reduction in hospitalizations from year 0 to year 1, a 15% deprescribing rate for medications where appropriate, and an estimated $11,000 annual total cost‑of‑care savings per child in the first 102 patients analyzed.
On payment and integration, committee members asked how pediatric pharmacists would coordinate with physicians and how they would be paid. Quinn said pharmacists work via collaborative practice agreements, partner with multidisciplinary teams and currently lack provider recognition under New Jersey Medicaid; she described ad hoc facility payments and value‑based agreements as stopgap approaches.
The committee called a motion to release A.4810, the roll was called and the bill was released from committee according to the transcript. The hearing did not include a Department of Health implementation plan or a payer‑side cost estimate.
