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Patients who adhere to statin regimens are healthier, but higher drug spending makes overall care more costly
Individuals with high cholesterol who stay on their statin medications over a 2-year period are healthier than comparable nonadherent individuals, but the overall cost of their care is slightly higher, according to a new study.
Individuals with high cholesterol who stay on their statin medications over a 2-year period are healthier than comparable nonadherent individuals, but the overall cost of their care is slightly higher, according to a new study.
While the new study, from pharmacy benefit manager Prime Therapeutics, aligns with earlier ones that also showed adherent individuals had improved health and lower medical costs, this study varies from others in concluding that the overall cost of care is higher. In the earlier studies, the overall cost of care was lower as decreased medical costs for their care more than offset the higher pharmacy costs. “It’s important to emphasize that our study showed that adherence to statins was associated with lower medical costs and hospitalizations, leading to healthier outcomes for individuals,” said lead author Pat Gleason, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, director of health outcomes with Prime.
Done in collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the study found individuals adherent to statin medications went to the hospital or emergency department 2.6% less often than nonadherent individuals, resulting in medical costs that were 7% lower (a difference of $767). The lower medical costs, however, were offset by pharmacy costs that were 45% higher (a difference of $1,606). Researchers compared medical and pharmacy costs among individuals with high cholesterol who were adherent to their statin medication to individuals who were not adherent (“adherence” was defined as “following the medication regime 80% of the time or more”). Of the 45,869 individuals included in the study, 21,693 (47.3%) were adherent and 24,176 (52.7%) nonadherent during the 2-year follow-up period.
Population differences, including the relatively young ages of the individuals in the new study, are a possible reason its findings differ from those of previous studies, Dr Gleason said. The earlier studies each had a specific population focus-individuals from a single employer, in 1 study, and retirees, in the other. As a result, the cost analyses from the earlier studies were limited in their generalizability.
“With the increasing availability of generic statins, especially the generic atorvastatin of the brand Lipitor, we may see lower pharmacy costs in future studies like this,” Dr Gleason added. â
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.
