A recent report from a leading pharmacy benefit manager suggests behavioral factors are a cause of hidden costs in prescription drugs. According to Express Scripts’ Drug Trend Report approximately $163 billion dollars is needlessly spent on health care because of the bad habits of the American consumer.
Express Scripts released its findings during a two-day conference hosted by the St. Louis pharmaceutical manager. Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy benefits management (PBM) companies in the United States, handles an estimated 750 million prescriptions a year through a network of over 60,000 retail pharmacies.
Their latest findings disclosed that Americans would save a tremendous amount of money if they took their drugs as prescribed, chose generic over brand name prescriptions and ordered their prescriptions by mail.
Dr. Steven Miller, the company’s chief medical officer stated that Americans spend almost twice as much as other countries on health care and if patients would follow the guidelines offered by Express Scripts, the savings would be in the neighborhood of $163 billion.
The states named as having the highest percentage of wasteful drug prescription costs per capita are California, Illinois, New York and Texas.
Another point made by Miller is that pharmaceutical managers have to engage the physicians in order to hold down the high cost of prescription drugs. He feels that physicians need to encourage patients to change their behavior and thinking about prescriptions in a cost-saving manner.
Miller believes the advantages of home delivery of medication also helps eliminate errors in filling the prescriptions. Apparently, there is a lower percentage of error from mail order pharmacies than from retail drug stores. He also stated that patients are more likely to follow and complete their prescription protocol if medications are ordered by mail and delivered directly to the individual.
Express Scripts has specific goals in reaching a saving platform. One suggestion offered is having kiosks installed in physician offices for the purpose of educating patients about generic drugs and home delivery.
Human behavior patterns that are being targeted by Express Scripts are procrastination and forgetfulness. The breakdown of costs suggests that $106 billion is wasted through non-compliance with prescribed protocol. Moreover, an additional $51 billion is wasted by ordering brand name drugs instead of their generic equivalent. The remaining $6 billion is lost through higher-end options for drug delivery.
Overall, drug spending in America increased by 6.4% in 2009, reversing the trends of slower prescription cost growth in prior years. Diabetes and influenza vaccinations were the two biggest cost drivers cited for the increase in cost last year.