Nathan discusses how technology can augment human expertise to help people access, afford, and adhere to their medications.
To learn more, download CoverMyMeds’ new solutions overview: Technology Helps Drive Medication Access, Adherence and Affordability.
Read on for Nathan’s insights.
Technology and Human Care Combine to Support the Medication Access Journey
By Nathan Mott, President, CoverMyMeds
We recently announced that RelayHealth, McKesson Prescription Automation, CoverMyMeds and RxCrossroads by McKesson have come together as one team under the CoverMyMeds brand. We’ve unified the strengths of each business to help improve care in every setting and solve some of the biggest medication access, adherence and affordability challenges patients face. In the last year alone, our teams collectively assisted over 50 million patients in accessing their prescribed therapies and also helped patients save billions of dollars in out-of-pocket prescription costs.
As healthcare consumerism trends continue to build steam and patients want on-demand access to care—without losing humanity—meeting patient needs at the right time is critical to building trust and maintaining adherence. We’ve found the best method to help patients access, adhere to and afford their medicine is skillfully combining automation and expert intervention.
For a holistic view of our broadened solutions suite, download our solutions overview.
IMPROVING ACCESS BY OVERCOMING BARRIERS
Access barriers can make even non-complex therapies feel complex for patients and their providers—which can eventually impact adherence.
These barriers can start at the point of prescribing. Providers had limited connections to pharmaceutical representatives in the last year, meaning many may have less information on new therapies. We’re thinking outside the box to not only provide care teams with continued access to innovative brands but bring more brand resources throughout the prescribing journey. This self-service solution will help brands reach connected providers in workflow.
Technology can also automate manual processes such as prior authorization (PA) and intervene to preserve more time for patients. Automation can help effectively deliver PA requests for brands on program to the health plan for determination. With enhanced PA support, health plans approve 93 percent more PA requests for brands on program due to increased submissions to the plan, on average. (CoverMyMeds data on file, 2020)
For more complex therapies, patient support services can blend electronic and human expertise to help patients access therapy faster—decreasing time to therapy by as much as 34 percent in some cases. (CoverMyMeds data on file, 2020)
A robust hub solution can proactively help remove or decrease obstacles through expanded access to care team members. By reaching patients where they are in their journey, through their preferred channels, we can help support ongoing adherence.
SUPPORTING ADHERENCE WITH CLINICAL EXPERTISE
Patients are more likely to abandon specialty medications than any other drugs during their deductible period due to high costs and often complex access processes. Education and reliable resources can help bridge adherence gaps and keep more patients on preferred therapies. This is another opportunity where technology and human connection combine for ideal patient outcomes.
Through electronic and telephone access, patients can connect with highly trained, brand-specific clinical teams to better understand treatment and administration, side effects and even their condition. In one study, patients who received adherence support on their medications were 25 percent more adherent and stayed on therapy 31 days longer than the control group.
PROMOTING AFFORDABILITY WITH TRANSPARENCY AND PAYMENT OPTIONS
Affordability can be a key factor in patient adherence: Some estimates show prescription abandonment increases by 0.6 percent for every out-of-pocket dollar of prescription costs. Abandonment rates reach 45 percent when the patient out-of-pocket cost is over $125.
Direct brand connections can help patients afford their medications and build trust with the brand for continued adherence. Patient assistant programs (PAPs) are a critical safety net for patients with financial concerns. In 2020, enrolled patients received more than 2.1M prescriptions through PAPs. (CoverMyMeds data on file, 2021)
Continuing affordability at the pharmacy and beyond, our solutions can also help lower the cost of entry to therapy, further promoting access and adherence. An electronic voucher solution can apply prescription assistance and copay savings to qualified prescriptions in real time at the pharmacy. To further bolster brand loyalty, a multi-channel support option can send patients actionable, tailored messages on cash discounts, care team support and educational materials.
COVERMYMEDS BRINGS TOGETHER THE BEST OF TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY
With technology at our core, supported by a patient-centered network, CoverMyMeds' broadened suite of solutions provides reliable support for prescribed brands. Each brand can customize technology for the best balance to preserve patients’ therapy from prescription to pickup.
Dive deeper into our robust solutions designed to help patients access needed medicine in our new solutions overview.
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