McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions Identifies New Insights into Medication Adherence from Latest Patient Research

PRESS RELEASE

Cost remains an adherence barrier while need for personalized support is steadily increasing

SCOTTSDALE, AZ, October 9, 2014 — New patient research commissioned by McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions (MPRS) identified emerging trends in medication adherence, the use of co-pay cards, and attitudes towards healthcare providers, including both physicians and pharmacists. The research spanned across six therapeutic categories and findings were compared to MPRS’s 2011 patient research. Highlights of the findings were recently presented at the CBI Coupon and Co-Pay Off-set Strategies conference, where MPRS, a division of McKesson Corporation dedicated to improving health outcomes by increasing patient adherence to prescribed medication regimens, served as the educational sponsor.

Highlights of the new patient research include:

• Understanding the Patient is Critical to Impacting Adherence and Care — While patients are concerned about their condition and committed to working to remain healthy, an increasing number do not fully understand their condition. Compared to previous patient research conducted by MPRS, 61% of patients were more concerned about their condition than any other health issue in 2014 versus only 33% in 2011. However, more patients indicated they do not understand their condition compared to 2011. Nearly one-third (31%) of patients wish their doctor would spend more time with them to explain their condition and their medication. While 80% claim to be compliant and take their medications as directed, an increasing number of patients claim to be more forgetful or careless about taking their medication or stop taking it when they feel better. While cost remains a significant factor in medication decisions, providers must truly understand the patient’s underlying barriers in order to modify behavior and impact adherence.
• Patients Expect More Personalized Support — Patients are more informed and engaged in their own healthcare than ever before. Research shows that patients are less interested in general information about their condition and more interested in personal communications from various healthcare industry players in the form of missed prescription reminders (89%), refill reminders (87%), live phone support (86%), and pharmacist coaching (83%). This provides an opportunity for physicians, pharmacists, payers and pharmaceutical manufacturers to integrate efforts designed to better manage health and chronic disease, optimize patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
• Increasing Reliance on Pharmacy — Patients are increasingly satisfied (94%) with their primary retail pharmacy experience and today, more than half (52%) rely on their pharmacist for information about their medication, including side effects. While physicians (47%) remain the primary source from which patients learn about co-pay cards and discount options, an increasing number are seeking information from their pharmacist (34%) and other sources. More than one third (36%) of patients indicated that they have asked their pharmacist about options for lower cost medications and 71% indicated they would be more likely to fill their prescription if the pharmacist provided a medication discount card/coupon.

In conjunction with American Pharmacists Month, MPRS also announced that it has developed a detailed discussion of the growing role of pharmacists in medication adherence and quality patient care. Download “The Transformation of Pharmacy: Understanding and Leveraging the Rapidly Changing Retail Environment” whitepaper from McKesson here (PDF, 2 MB).

“Improving medication adherence is a key driver of reform and quality of patient care is rapidly becoming a primary metric for how healthcare providers are evaluated. Through the application of innovative behavioral techniques designed to help patients overcome both financial and clinical barriers to adherence, we are extremely proud to offer a comprehensive suite of programs and solutions designed to help achieve healthier patient outcomes and our research reinforces that success starts with understanding the patient,” said Derek Rago, Vice President/General Manager, McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions.

A leading provider of comprehensive adherence solutions, MPRS’ core solutions include alternative sampling programs, fully integrated patient loyalty programs, patient outreach services and in-pharmacy patient counseling programs. Over the past two years, MPRS has been recognized for their best-in-class adherence solutions with multiple healthcare industry awards, including a Strategic Patient Adherence Award for its Pharmacy Intervention Program — Diabetes Platform. The award was presented at the 12th Annual Patient Adherence and Support Summit (PASS), sponsored by CBI and Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine. MPRS won the Gold Award in the Best Use of Direct Marketing to Consumers (DTC) category for their LAP-BAND® Behavioral Call Campaign from Medical Marketing and Media (MM&M) Magazine as well as a number of PM360 Trailblazer Awards.

“As the industry shifts from a transactional healthcare system to a highly integrated, value-based model, the role of the retail pharmacist is rapidly evolving. As one of the most trusted and accessible community healthcare professionals, retail pharmacy is now driving innovation designed to deliver patient education, adherence support, and financial assistance,” added Rago.

About McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions

McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions (MPRS) is a unique division of McKesson Corporation focused on helping pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers reach patients to improve acquisition and adherence for their brands. MPRS’ solutions include co-pay savings and sample programs, behavioral-based patient engagement, print and digital communications, call center support, pharmacy-based patient-support programs, and much more. For more information, please contact Derek Rago at derek.rago@mckesson.com.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.