Real-Time Benefit Check Helps Solve Prescription Abandonment

Prescription cost is the top cause of medication abandonment, making cost transparency at the point of prescribing critical to successful treatment and ongoing adherence.

According to a survey of 1,000 patients, 75% have been prescribed a medication that cost more than they expected. Consequently, half reported that they have avoided filling a prescription because it cost too much when they arrived at the pharmacy, while 37% reported that they stopped taking a medication because of the refill cost.

This type of medication non-adherence contributes to billions of dollars in costs to the U.S. healthcare system, including costs related to emergency department visits and hospital readmissions (often due to treatable symptoms).

Solving for these issues seems straightforward enough: tell patients how much the medication will cost them, at the point of prescribing, and determine if it's affordable to them. However, true prescription cost transparency is multifaceted and complex.

Providers are often the only stakeholder to interface with patients before they arrive at the pharmacy, and when armed with accurate pricing information, providers can help reduce prescription abandonment. First, they can explain and set realistic expectations around prescription cost, helping to alleviate patient sticker shock. They could also recommend alternative, clinically appropriate medications that meet the patient’s affordability needs. Finally, they can determine if patient assistance programs exist to help the patient pay for their recommended prescriptions.

To provide patients with accurate cost information, providers need true prescription cost transparency in their e-prescribing workflow. This can be accomplished through a real-time benefit check solution that includes:

1. Alternatives: A different, but clinically appropriate, medication may exist — at a lower cost than the originally prescribed medication. An alternative with the same therapeutic outcome and lower out-of-pocket cost may impact the patient’s ability to fill their prescriptions.

2. Cash Price: The amount a patient has to pay if they choose to not go through or do not have insurance. With the cash price readily available at the point of prescribing, providers can discuss potential issues with patients, review alternative medications and offer any available assistance programs. This helps give patients confidence that they can afford their prescribed therapies.

3. Patient Assistance/Affordability Programs: These programs, designed to help patients obtain medication at a lower cost, can make the difference in whether prescriptions are filled or abandoned. If providers had this information available when prescribing, they could encourage eligible patients to apply.

4. Patient Out-of-Pocket Cost: Even if the patient has insurance, otheir out-of-pocket costs are often unknown until they arrive at the pharmacy. With this knowledge upfront, providers can help a patient understand exactly what they will pay for their prescription at the pharmacy, helping to reduce sticker shock and increase the likelihood that they’ll remain adherent.

5. Prior Authorization (PA) Requirements: The traditional, paper-based PA process on average can take days, or even weeks, to receive a determination. If a provider knows at the point of prescribing whether the patient’s plan will require them to obtain more clinical information before deciding to cover a medication, they can immediately begin working to complete the PA request. With a comprehensive real-time benefit check solution, the provider can proactively initiate a request electronically for any medication and all health plans, helping to streamline the prescribing process and increase speed to therapy.

The key factor for a successful real-time benefit check implementation is whether the solution can surface the most accurate patient pay amount prior to prescription submission. Providers indicate this does not exist within the current formulary and benefit model, and more than 80 percent agree that better accuracy would make their jobs easier.

To learn more about real-time benefit check solutions, including a comprehensive, unbiased look at the various implementation models, read the 2018 Real-Time Benefit Check National Adoption Scorecard.