COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The impact
from the COVID-19 pandemic caused tens of millions of
Americans to lose their jobs, health insurance and, for
some, access to their medications.1 New
research released today by CoverMyMeds found that 65 percent of
patients were financially impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic2 and 36 percent sacrificed their treatments or
medications to pay for bills and basic needs.2 Others
have done the inverse: 43 percent have had to forgo paying for
essential items and bills to afford needed medications,2
while 41 percent have skipped or modified medication doses to
stretch out prescriptions.2
"I don't know how people can afford to be sick and still live
their lives," said Patricia F., a patient featured in the 2021
Medication Access Report who shared her experience managing
multiple sclerosis. "I take it one day at a time and hope I'm not
going to find out when it's too late that I really should have been
on medication."
The 2021 Medication Access Report also highlights technology
designed to help inform medication conversations with patients,
support prescribing decisions, and empower patients and caregivers
to become part of their own care team, including:
Prescription Price Transparency
- Sixty-two percent of patients ask their provider about
medication price and affordability options.2 Equipping
providers and care team members with tools that show prescription
cost, remaining deductible, formulary alternatives, cash price and
cost savings programs at the point of prescribing can help bolster
affordability conversations with patients.
- When a prescription cost more than expected, 43 percent
of patients in 2020 said they checked a pharmacy comparison app to
find a better price, up from 28 percent in
2019.2,3
Tech-Enabled Patient Support Services
- Specialty therapies are often the hardest to access for
patients, usually due to process complexity and affordability
challenges. Nearly half of providers surveyed indicated they
changed how they approach specialty patient appointments due to
COVID-19 while nearly one in five providers saw a decrease
in patient therapy compliance.4
- Through continued development of electronic patient support
services, available at the point of prescribing for prescribers and
their staff, more patients can experience end-to-end support to
access specialty medications. In some cases, such programs have
contributed to a 34 percent reduction in time to
therapy.5
Electronic Prior Authorization
- Due to manual prior authorization management, over one
third of providers reported having less time for face-to-face
interaction with patients—during which meaningful conversations
about affordability, access or social circumstances could
occur.4
- Adoption of a robust electronic prior authorization solution
can help reduce manual processes and improve patient outcomes. In
fact, 62 percent of prior authorization requests submitted
electronically receive a determination within two hours, and 43
percent receive a determination automatically.6
"Patients need reliable paths to medication access, and they
shouldn't have to choose between basic needs to access and afford
their medications," said Miranda Gill MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Senior
Director, Provider Services and Operations at CoverMyMeds.
"Encouraging patients to proactively participate in their care plan
has shown to help improve outcomes. By utilizing reliable
technology to view cost, quality and convenience options, the
patient and provider can collaborate to make the best treatment
decision for the patient."
The 2021 Medication Access Report uses industry research,
patient interviews and new survey data from patients, pharmacists
and providers to investigate medication access barriers and how we
can overcome them as an industry, especially in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The report is published by CoverMyMeds, part of
McKesson's Prescription Technology Solutions, with an advisory
board of leaders from Albertsons, California Chronic Care
Coalition, Cerner Corporation, Community Health Network, Horizon
Government Affairs, Humana, National Council for Prescription Drug
Programs, National Patient Advocate Foundation, OptumRx, Orsini
Healthcare, The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center, PioneerRx and Point of Care Partners.
To view the full 2021 Medication Access Report, click here.
1 – Zipperer, Ben, and Josh
Bivens. "9.2 Million Workers Likely Lost Their
Employer-Provided Health Insurance in the Past Four Weeks."
Economic Policy Institute, 16 Apr.
2020
2 – CoverMyMeds Patient Survey, 2020
3 – CoverMyMeds Patient Survey, 2019
4 – CoverMyMeds Provider Survey, 2020
5 – CoverMyMeds data on file, 2020
6 – CoverMyMeds data on file, 2018
About CoverMyMeds
CoverMyMeds, part of McKesson's
Prescription Technology Solutions, is a fast-growing healthcare
technology company that has been recognized as a "Best Place to
Work" by Glassdoor and a "Best Company to Work For" by FORTUNE.
CoverMyMeds' solutions help patients get the medications they need
to live healthy lives by seamlessly connecting the healthcare
network to improve medication access; thereby increasing speed to
therapy and reducing prescription abandonment. CoverMyMeds' network
includes 75 percent of electronic health record systems (EHRs), 96
percent of pharmacies, 750,000 providers and most health plans and
PBMs. Visit www.covermymeds.com for more information.
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SOURCE CoverMyMeds