Mobile App Helps Patients Manage Prescription Benefits

A prescription price comparison app called OneRx can help patients figure out what co-pay to expect before they arrive at the pharmacy.

Pharmacy Times’ Cou-Co offers a similar prescription coupon and co-pay service. In addition to locating educational resources, patients and pharmacists can search for coupons for medications.

The OneRx app, which was launched by Truveris, was developed out of a desire to empower patients in real time, Chief Marketing Officer Stephany Verstraete told Pharmacy Times. By using the app, patients can make informed decisions to keep their medications affordable, understand what their benefits cover, and find out if lower cost options exist, Verstraete said.

“When a person drops off a prescription, [pharmacists can] ask them if they have checked their price and savings options with OneRx,” she explained. “Even better, [pharmacists can] tell them about OneRx, so they can be prepared the next time a script is being written.”

Pharmacists, prescribers, and patients have provided Truveris with positive feedback about the app, according to Verstraete.

“We have been thrilled to see the feedback from patients in the app reviews as well as unsolicited e-mails sharing success stories,” she said.

The app was built in collaboration with pharmacists—including 3 on Truveris’s staff—in order to ensure that it would create a better, more streamlined pharmacy experience. Pharmacists who have used the product have complimented the co-pay tool, Verstraete said.

“OneRx has the power to improve the relationship between pharmacists and their patients in 2 ways,” she said, citing its potential for improved medication adherence and cost savings.

First, “a patient who uses OneRx knows if the insurance company requires some kind of hurdle—such as step therapy or prior authorization—before trying to fill the script,” Verstraete said. “Arriving at the pharmacy armed with that knowledge reduces abandonment.”

Second, “because patients can show a pharmacist real-time script information and any applicable discounts on the OneRx app, pharmacists can quickly fill prescriptions knowing that they’re providing customers with the best option possible,” she said.