\u201cA prescription drug doesn\u2019t work if it\u2019s priced out of reach,\u201d says Kautzner. \u201cReducing out-of-pocket costs is the single best thing we can do to improve the health of people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tools to stay adherent:<\/strong> Half of all treatments fail because people don\u2019t take medication as prescribed and nearly one-quarter of hospitalizations are due to medication non-adherence, according to the American Hospital Association. Further, chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease have been on the rise for more than two decades \u2013 today, 60% of U.S. adults<\/a> have at least one chronic condition. One of the biggest<\/a> \u2013 and costliest<\/a> \u2013 challenges with managing the rise of chronic conditions is ensuring patients get on and stay on the medicines they need.<\/p>\n Express Scripts is helping patients better understand and manage their conditions through comprehensive disease management, including condition-specific coaching, tracking medication adherence, and digital tools.<\/p>\n \u201cBy taking medications as directed and working with their pharmacist, patients stay healthier longer and spend less on health care, requiring fewer emergency room visits, hospitalizations and medical tests,\u201d says Stephanie Smith Cooney, PharmD, senior director of independent pharmacy affairs at Express Scripts.<\/p>\n \u2022 Understand your pharmacy benefits:<\/strong> Prescription drug coverage is the most frequently utilized benefit that employers and health plans offer. On average, a pharmacy benefit is used approximately 11 times a year. Unfortunately, pharmacy care benefits, like all healthcare benefits, can be confusing. That\u2019s why pharmacy services companies are taking steps to give patients greater clarity. Starting this year, prescriptions from Express Scripts include an easy-to-understand digital pharmacy benefits statement with drug price information, out-of-pocket costs and the value delivered.<\/p>\n \u2022 Pharmacy access:<\/strong> Pharmacists often fill care gaps in their communities, particularly where there are shortages of physicians, such as in rural areas. One in five Americans live in rural areas, yet less than 10% of physicians<\/a> practice in these communities. This means longer wait times to get an appointment and more difficulty accessing pharmacies.<\/p>\n A new effort called the IndependentRx Initiative, is working to expand pharmacy care services to widely include such care as smoking cessation support, behavioral health screenings, biometric screenings, routine vaccinations and the administration of life-saving naloxone. The Express Scripts program will also increase what it pays rural independent pharmacies to make sure their businesses can continue to serve their communities.<\/p>\n
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