WOONSOCKET, R.I., Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- New research
by the CVS Health Research Institute is the first to show the
impact of prescription refill programs on medication adherence. The
study, published in the American Journal of Managed Care,
found that ReadyFill®, the refill program available at
CVS/pharmacy®, improved adherence to medications for common chronic
conditions without contributing to an oversupply of medication.
"Medication adherence is a complex public health challenge, and
our ongoing research in this area has identified many reasons why
people don't always take their medications as prescribed by their
doctor," said William H. Shrank, MD, MSHS, senior vice president
and Chief Scientific Officer, CVS Health. "At CVS Health, we are
pleased to show that our prescription refill program is helping to
address one challenge of medication adherence by making the
prescription refill process easier and more convenient without
contributing to drug oversupply, which is a common concern with
these types of programs."
The study found that patients who chose to enroll in the refill
program offered by CVS/pharmacy had significantly greater
medication adherence. In fact, those enrolled in the program
receiving 30-day supplies of medication had a Medication Possession
Ratio (MPR), a measurement for medication adherence, that was three
points higher than the control group. For those patients receiving
90-day supplies of chronic medications, their MPR was 1.4 points
higher than the control group. In addition, those enrolled in the
refill program who received 30-day fills had 2.5 fewer days of
oversupply than those in the control group, and those receiving
90-day fills had 2.18 fewer days of oversupply.
"We created the ReadyFill program to help encourage adherence by
providing customers with easy access to an appropriate and adequate
medication supply," added Joshua M.
Flum, executive vice president of Pharmacy Services, CVS
Health. "At CVS Health, we are committed to helping more people
start and stay on their prescriptions every day, and ReadyFill is
just one of several adherence services that we offer to help
improve health outcomes and reduce total health care costs."
The study evaluated integrated data of more than 250,000
CVS/caremark members who filled 30- or 90-day prescriptions for at
least one of 11 common chronic conditions at a CVS/pharmacy. The
researchers compared MPR and average days of excess medication on
hand at the time of refill for a sample of members who chose to
enroll in the CVS/pharmacy refill program to a control sample that
filled prescriptions using traditional methods.
CVS Health launched ReadyFill in 2009. The program coordinates
refills for eligible maintenance prescriptions to save customers
time and help them stay on track with their medications without
contributing to prescription oversupply. Those who choose to enroll
in the program receive reminder messages when their prescription is
ready to be picked up. Concerns had previously been raised about
the potential of these programs to produce drug waste by reducing a
patient's involvement in the dispensing process, which could result
in unnecessary health care spending.
Medication adherence is a major public health issue that costs
the health care system nearly $300
billion each year. Approximately 50 percent of American
adults are prescribed a maintenance medication for a chronic
disease such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Yet many
patients do not adhere to their prescribed therapies. As a pharmacy
innovation company, CVS Health is building a range of programs to
meet the various challenges individual patients face when taking
their medications. These include programs that help align
prescription refills for patients with multiple maintenance
medications, comprehensive medication reviews to help identify
potential safety issues and adherence-improving interventions that
can be delivered at the retail pharmacy, via digital tools and at
the patient's home.
The CVS Health Research Institute is focused on contributing to
the body of scientific knowledge related to pharmacy and health
care through research collaborations with external academic
institutions, participation in federally funded research, analysis
and sharing of CVS Health data sources and coordination of pilot
programs and initiatives. CVS Health Research Institute findings
support a continuous quality improvement environment, which
encourages product innovation and development to benefit CVS Health
patients, clients and their members.
For more detail on the data, please visit the following link:
http://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2015/2015-vol21-n11/Community-Pharmacy-Automatic-Refill-Program-Improves-Adherence-to-Maintenance-Therapy-and-Reduces-Wasted-Medication
About CVS Health
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) is a pharmacy
innovation company helping people on their path to better health.
Through its more than 7,900 retail drugstores, more than 1,000
walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with
more than 70 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care
business serving more than one million patients per year, and
expanding specialty pharmacy services, the Company enables people,
businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable,
effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to
quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall
health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is
shaping the future of health at www.cvshealth.com.
Media
Contacts:
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Christine
Cramer
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Christina
Beckerman
|
CVS
Health
|
CVS Health
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(401)
770-3317
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(401)
770-8868
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christine.cramer@cvshealth.com
|
christina.beckerman@cvshealth.com
|
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SOURCE CVS Health