Pharmaceutical Statistics

General Adherence Stats
2008-2009

Prescription drug benefit cost and plan design online report.

The average annual increase in drug cost expenditures reported in 2008 was 4.86%. The range of drug cost savings was .03% to 25%, while the range of cost increases was .01% to 23%.

October-2008

Promoting Adherence benefits more than just the patient, Pharmacy Times.

The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation Patient Self-Management Program and its complementary Diabetes 10-City Challenge, pharmacy has helped to show that when patients take their medicine, overall health care costs decrease significantly. Adherence leads to healthier lifestyles, fewer sick days, and a more productive workforce.

June-2008

Medication Adherence: America’s New Drug Problem? The Healthcare savings chronicle

Annual excess medical costs due to non-adherence $300B.

Number of deaths annually in US due to non-adherence 125,000.

Percentage of patients who never even fill their prescriptions 33%.

Average rate of patient non-adherence 50%.

A recent study conducted by Medco Health Solutions found that for diabetes patients, every additional dollar spent on medication saved seven dollars in medical cost

June-2008

Value-based tactics to boost medication adherence - And reduce risks and costs, Towers Perrin

Data indicates that improving poor adherence rates could reduce the risk of complications and crises by up to 26%.

Mounting evidence, including multiple studies involving more than 19,000 patients, suggests that strategies to raise MPRs (medication possession ratios) lead to substantial reductions in absenteeism, ER visits and hospitalization costs.

33% to 59% of plan participants with chronic conditions — those taking the costliest drugs at the lowest copays — are not receiving the full value of their medications.

March-2008

Ensuring Profitable Patient Adherence Programs: Using Analytics and Metrics to Improve the Bottom Line.

Today, an estimated 70 percent of patients who begin a Pharmaceutical therapy discontinue it within 1 year, even those with chronic conditions that require ongoing treatment or those taking chemotherapy to prevent cancer recurrence.

August-2007

Enhancing Prescription Medicine Adherence: A national Action Plan National council on Patient Information and Education

Researchers have calculated that non-adherence costs the U.S. health care system about $100 billion annually, including approximately $47 billion each year for drug-related hospitalizations. Moreover, not taking medicines as prescribed has been associated with as many as 40 percent of admissions to nursing homes and with an additional $2,000 a year per patient in medical costs for visits to physicians’ offices. The total direct and indirect costs to U.S. society from prescription drug non-adherence are about $177 billion annually.

Based on a meta-analysis of 63 studies involving more than 19,000 patients, higher adherence was found to reduce the risk for a poor treatment outcome by 26 percent. Other data associate patient self-management and adherence programs with a reduction in the number of patients being hospitalized, days in the hospital, and outpatient visits. The data suggest a cost to savings ratio of approximately 1:10 in some cases, with the results continuing over several years.

A survey reported that nearly three out of every four American consumers report not always taking their prescription medicine as directed.

A survey found a major disconnect between consumers’ beliefs and their behaviors when it comes to taking medicines correctly. Some of the findings of the survey include: Almost half of those polled (49 percent) said they had forgotten to take a prescribed medicine;

Nearly one-third (31 percent) had not filled a prescription they were given;

Nearly three out of 10 (29 percent) had stopped taking a medicine before the supply ran out; and Almost one-quarter (24 percent) had taken less than the recommended dosage.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only about 50 percent of patients typically take their medicines as prescribed.

Even among health care professionals, self-reported adherence with prescribed therapies averaged only 79 percent in one study.

May-2006

Clinical And Economic advantages of Modern Dosage Forms; Improving Medication Adherence National Pharmaceutical Council

Adherence among patients suffering from a variety of chronic diseases averages only 50 Percent.

May-2006

10th Annual survey of large employers: Watson Wyatt Worldwide and National Business Group on Health, March 2005

PATIENT NONADHERENCE: TOOLS FOR COMBATING - PERSISTENCE AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES

An estimated 20 to 25 percent of employers' healthcare expenses are a direct consequence of nonadherence to medications, according to the benefits consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Febraury-2003

Medication Compliance after Kidney transplant American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy

The frequency of medication non-compliance after organ transplantation has been estimated to range from 5% to 43%.

2000

Medication Nonadherence: Finding Solutions to a Costly Medical Problem

Depending on the characteristics of the condition, the treatment, the patient, and the setting, estimates of medication nonadherence rates typically range from 30% to 60%, with the nonadherence percentage being greatest when the patients are symptom-free.

One study showed that 77% of patients demonstrated degrees of compliance with their medication regimen when the treatment was designed to cure a disease and only 63% of patients complied when treatment was aimed at prevention. However, when medication was to be taken over a long period, compliance rates dropped dramatically to approximately 50% for either prevention or cure.

Studies show that 20% to 80% of patients make errors in taking medication and that 20% to 60% stop taking medications before being instructed to do so.

With older populations, the literature concerning adherence reports that compliance rates range roughly from 38% to 57%, with an average rate of less than 45%.

Mail Order Pharmacy
2008-2009

Prescription drug benefit cost and plan design online report

Employers establish drug plan designs to share some portion of drug costs with members, usually based on an amount for each tier or drug category. On average, members paid 26.6% of a retail prescription and 19% of a mail prescription.

A total of 93.7% of employers offer access to mail-service pharmacy to supply maintenance medications used to treat chronic conditions..

Only 12.4% of employers require maintenance medications to be dispensed by a mail-service pharmacy, commonly referred to as “mandatory mail”

On average, members paid 26.6% of a retail prescription and 19% of a mail prescription.

Generic Use
November-2008

Doughnut holes leads seniors to generics, Pharmacy Times

A study by Medco Health Solutions found that, when patients being treated for high cholesterol hit Medicare Part D's "doughnut hole," they were twice as likely to abandon their medications. Those taking brand name cholesterol-lowering statins were most at risk of stopping therapy once they hit the coverage gap. The study shows that, during 2007, the rate of patients who suspended generic statin treatment was 20% lower than those on a brand name medication.

November-2007

GENERICS EMERGING AS 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ISSUE, Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) President and Chief Executive Officer Kathleen Jaeger , Pharmacy Times

Studies show that when patients take generic medicines, they are more likely to keep using the medicines as needed. And patients who maintain their treatments are less likely to be hospitalized for their conditions.”

November-2007

Study shows Incentive program increases generic drug use, Business Wire

The study, which focused on a state employer plan using the Zero Dollar Copay program, showed that compared to a control group, a significantly greater number of members who received the zero dollar incentive moved to generic medications for the treatment of gastrointestinal, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and arthritis conditions. The anti-cholesterol therapy class produced the highest conversion rate of 12.6 percent compared to the control group of 4.7 percent.

Use of Incentives (Member)
August-2008

Aetna tries paying patients to take their meds, Amednews.com

The Aetna Foundation last fall gave researchers a $400,000 grant to fund a study at the University of Pennsylvania that will use prizes of $10 and $100 as rewards for taking medication as prescribed.

August-2008

Joining the health culture club, Pharmacy Gateway, benefitscanada.com

In 2002, Pitney Bowes reduced the costs of all drugs covered under the benefits plan (both generic and brand name) for diabetes, asthma and hypertension to 10% co-insurance. The move to 10% co-insurance produced results in Pitney Bowes’ employee population. Compliance rates for asthma medication adherence doubled, particularly in the area of controller medications. There was also an increased level of compliance for diabetes and hypertension drugs, notably, for those over age 55. Older [employees] began taking their medications, and Pitney bowes saw less hospitalization [and] fewer ER visits. In fact, Pitney Bowes reduced its disability days by 50% for its diabetic population.

2007

Money for medication: Financial incentives to improve medication adherence in assertive outreach, Psychiatric Bulletin

Giuffrida & Torgerson (1997) found favorable results in 10 out of 11 randomized controlled studies of financial incentives to enhance adherence to anti-tuberculotic drugs, dental care, weight reduction and cocaine abstinence programs, and antihypertensive treatment with odds ratios of up to 7 for antituberculosis treatment

One non-randomized study (Carey & Carey, 1990) of patients with dual diagnosis found that modest rewards enhanced attendance. All studies were from the USA and the incentives ranged from $5 to $1000 for a completed program or single intervention.

Re: ethical concerns: Money for medication is not coercive, as it adds only a small amount of money (compared with the average benefits) to what the service user already receives, much in the sense of a reward in the framework of behavioral reinforcement. Financial incentive does not affect any entitlement to benefits or any other component of care.

September-2007

Voucher Reinforcement Improves Medication Adherence in HIVPositive Methadone Patients

In a study HIV-positive methadone patients who were less than 80% adherent with their primary anti-retroviral therapy were randomized to a trial of incentives for on-time adherence. Adherence was rewarded with an escalating scale of vouchers redeemable for goods. Results indicated clear improvement in medication adherence in the voucher group from baseline phase through the intervention phase. Adherence was 78% in the intervention group and 56% in the control group.

November-2003

Increasing Latino Adolescents’ Adherence to Treatment for Latent Tuberculosis Infection: A Controlled Trial

Postintervention studies primarily using patient education have reported adherence rates between 23% and 68%; those using peer counseling, rates between 60% and 78%; those using incentives such as cash, clothing, or transportation or food vouchers, rates between 71% and 89%; and those using directly observed preventive therapy, rates between 54% and 94%.

Use of Incentives (Pharmacist)
September-2006

Medicaid urged to consider MTMS incentives Pharmacytimes.com

The financially strapped Medicaid program can stretch its budget significantly by encouraging pharmacists to provide medication therapy management services (MTMS) to patients, said an official of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA)."For every dollar invested in pharmacists providing patient-focused services, an estimated $16.50 is saved in health care costs," APhA State Relations Director Hrant Jamgochian said in a presentation to the Medicaid Commission.

"By incentivizing pharmacists to spend this additional time with patients, Medicaid programs can optimize therapeutic outcomes, improve medication use, reduce the risks of adverse events and drug interactions, and increase patient adherence and compliance with prescribed regimens," said Jamgochian. He added that studies have found that MTMS by community pharmacists to asthma patients reduced hospitalizations by 77% and emergency department visits by 78%.