About The Minnesota Prescription Coalition

An Introduction 

The Minnesota Prescription Coalition (MPC) was formed in the fall of 2009 as the result of a broad based group of organizations coming together to promote evidence based prescribing and to deal with conflicts of interest issues in medical field.  

Mission

• Ensure patients have access to quality, appropriate, and affordable medications.

• Increase evidence-based use of drugs and medical devices in the state of Minnesota,

• Reduce conflicts of interest between Minnesota prescribers and the pharmaceutical industry

Objectives

• The Minnesota Prescription Coalition (MPC) will undertake activities that are intended to increase quality in prescribing of drugs and devices and to reduce spending on prescription drugs.

• Activities will include educational efforts, such as academic detailing

• Development, support and advocacy of public policy efforts including:

  • Activities to increase prescription privacy for marketing purposes

  • Reduce conflict of interest in the industry

  • Academic detailing and

  • Transparency in pharmaceutical decisions.

The MPC will work to achieve these objectives both in Minnesota and at the national level as appropriate. 

MPC Membership

The Minnesota Coalition invites all organizations that are concerned about improving the quality of our health care system, encouraging evidenced based prescribing, and reducing conflicts of interest between MN prescribers and the pharmaceutical industry to join us. The MPC is currently working with over two dozen key stakeholders from a wide spectrum of interest including health care providers, payers, consumers, labor, commerce, academia, health care and state agencies.  

Organizations currently participating include 

AARP-MN, Allina, Consumer Worker Coalition (RWJ initiative), Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, HealthPartners, Hennepin County Medical Center, Mature Voices Minnesota (successor organization of the Minnesota Senior Federation), Park Nicollet, National Physician Alliance-MN, Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minnesota Nurses Association, Labor/Management Healthcare Coalition of the Upper Midwest, StratisHealth, Take Action- MN, UCare Minnesota and others.

We are also working closely with the University of Minnesota, and the MN Departments of Health, Human Service and MN Board of Pharmacy.

Current Legislative Objectives

We will work on a number of issues during the coming year all of which were introduced earlier this session. These include:

Pharmaceutical Data Mining (H.F. 491 Rep. Tina Liebling; S.F. 1044 – Sen. John Doll)

Pharmaceutical Gift Ban legislation- Enhancements(H.R. 1641- Rep. Tina Liebling; S.F.1237 –Sen. John Marty)

MN Academic Detailing Program (H.F. 1640 – Rep. Tina Liebling; S.F. 895 – Senator Kathy Sheran)

The MPC is primarily funded under through with Community Catalyst and the Prescription Project of Pew Charitable Trusts.

For Further Information: Peter Wyckoff, National Consultant – Prescription Access and Quality Community Catalyst - The Pew Prescription Project -            

PH: 651-486-9114      Cell: 612-807-0842

www.MinnesotaPrescriptionCoalition.org     

The Pew Prescription Porject Website:www.presecriptionproject.org        

Email: pete.wyckoff@yahoo.com