Loyalty Marketing    
MonthlyTM
Pharmacist counseling a patient
compliments of pskw
FEBRUARY 2013

Welcome to the February issue of Loyalty Marketing Monthly. This month's lead article, from JAMA Internal Medicine, provides important insights into the association between sociodemographic factors and adherence/persistence, and the extent to which reduced out-of-pocket costs can help close the gap. 

Our second item this month is a unique report on the attitudes of payers, patients, physicians, and pharmacists regarding co-pay assistance cards. There has been relatively little published in this area, so this piece may have particular value. 

Finally, a just-published article in  Population Health Management reports on the positive adherence impacts of a value-based insurance design program.

We trust that you will enjoy and gain from this issue of Loyalty Marketing Monthly!

Health System Factors and Antihypertensive Adherence in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Cohort of New Users
by Alyce Adams, et al

This January 2013 article in JAMA Internal Medicine reports on the relationships between race/ethnicity, specific health system factors, and early nonpersistence and nonadherence.

Nonwhite race was associated with early nonpersistence and nonadherence. However, racial/ethnic differences in non-adherence were appreciably attenuated when medication co-payment and mail-order pharmacy use were accounted for.

The authors conclude that "strategies designed to reduce patient co-payments, ease access to medications, and optimize the choice of initial therapy may be effective tools in narrowing persistent gaps in the use of these and other clinically effective therapies."

See the article abstract here:
Health System Factors and Adherence in a Diverse Cohort    

Prescription Co-pay Offset Cards
by Dilip Phadnis, et al

This December 2012 publication from Alliance Life Sciences provides important guidance regarding the attitudes and experiences of hundreds of payers, patients, pharmacists, and physicians regarding co-pay cards. Bottom line: although many payers are not in favor of co-pay offsets, physicians, patients, and pharmacists like them and see many benefits:
  • >70% of physicians and pharmacists stated that co-pay cards improved compliance and persistence
  • ~40% of physicians say that they have prescribed a drug primarily because it has a co-pay program
  • About 28% of patients have requested a specific medication because of a co-pay offer, and in these instances the MDs always agree to their requests
  • One-third of patients get co-pay cards from their physicians, 28% mention mail, and 20% obtain online
  • ~55% of MDs say they are giving more co-pay cards and less samples today compared with a year ago.
See a report summary here:
Prescription Co-pay Offset Cards  


Patient-Centered Outcomes of a Value-Based Insurance Design Program for Patients with Diabetes
by Daniel Elliott, et al

Published on February 13, 2013 (ePub ahead of print) in  Population Health Management, Elliott and colleagues evaluated the patient-centered outcomes of a VBID program that eliminated co-payments for diabetes-related medications and supplies for employees and dependents with diabetes at a large health system.

P
atients reported a significant reduction in monthly out-of-pocket costs, which corresponded to a significant reduction in cost-related nonadherence from 41% to 17.5%. The findings suggest that VBID programs can accomplish the anticipated goals for medication utilization and are highly regarded by participants.

See the complete article here:
Patient-Centered Outcomes of a VBID Program


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"Ask the Expert" by Bob Caprara, PSKW Chief Methodologist

Q: Which type of co-pay offer do MDs prefer for patients – "pay no more than $XX" or "$XX Off"? 

A: In a recent survey of 150 MDs, PSKW found that doctors generally prefer "pay no more than" offers. Although "$off" offers tend to generate more claims than a PNMT offer with a similar average benefit, a PNMT offer is geared to restrict benefit to areas where you haven't already paid for good coverage and to focus benefit on areas where the MC landscape is not as favorable.

Upcoming Loyalty/Adherence Conferences
 
World Congress Summit to Improve Adherence and Enhance Patient Engagement
Mar 14-15, 2013
Philadelphia, PA
World Congress Adherence

CBI's 12th Annual Patient Adherence and Support Summit 
April 29-30, 2013
Philadelphia, PA
Patient Adherence & Support 

EyeForPharma's
10th Patient Summit USA         
May 2-3, 2013
Philadelphia, PA
Patient Summit USA
To receive a $300 registration discount, use code "COL 300"

What PSKW Does
 
Co-pay Assistance Initiatives
   - Tangible Vehicles
   - Virtual Vehicles
 
Digital Relationship Tools
   - Loyalty Card Key
   - Time-Release Messaging
   - EngagedPatient
   - Personalized One2One
   - ePrescription Co-pay Offers
   - Universal Pharmacy Offers
   - and more!

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