Healthgrades Launches Prescription Drug Information And Ratings Tool

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 16 May 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, announced the launch of a prescription drug rating and comparison tool for patients on http://www.HealthGrades.com.

For the first time anywhere, patients will have access to information on:

- which drugs physicians prescribe most within a class, such as statins or anti-depressants; and
- whether the use of a specific drug is growing or waning.

The tool, covering 4,345 prescription drugs, also displays patient-supplied ratings on the efficacy and tolerance of specific drugs, price and drug background information, including side effects and safety warnings. Patients can print a free report detailing their findings to share with their doctor.

HealthGrades is expanding beyond its ratings of hospitals, doctors and nursing homes with the goal of empowering patients to better understand prescription drugs, a rapidly growing part of health care delivery in America. In 2006, the number of prescriptions dispensed to patients grew to 3.7 billion, an increase of 4.6 percent, up from 3.2 percent in 2005, according to IMS Health, the leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

"As patients' out-of-pocket costs continue to climb, access to credible information on the cost-benefit of medical treatments is imperative," said Samantha Collier, M.D., HealthGrades chief medical officer. "HealthGrades' drug ratings tool helps these patients quickly and easily evaluate whether they are getting the most effective treatment for their condition - and for their money."

And perhaps most importantly, HealthGrades' prescription drug ratings are designed to heighten awareness of potential side effects that could impact patient compliance and ultimately overall health.

"Patients often do not tell their physician when they are having problems with a drug; they just stop taking it or do not take it as instructed" said Dr. Collier. "One of goals of the drug ratings tool is to assist patients in knowing when and how to talk to their doctor."

HealthGrades' drug ratings tool lets individuals research and compare more than 4,300 prescription drugs side by side in a user-friendly format that displays:

• Physician-prescribing information including each drug's rank in its class of drugs based on the number of prescriptions filled and the percent increase or decrease in the number of prescriptions filled versus one year prior. This enables a consumer to have a discussion with their physician if they are taking a drug that is not often prescribed or has seen a big decrease in the number of prescriptions written. This is the first time that this information has been publicly available.

- User ratings on effectiveness, tolerability, ease of use, would you recommend, and overall value.

- A printable report that helps patients find the right drug and improve their compliance. The report provides a drug score based on how the patient responded to questions about a drug. This drug score reflects the patient's experience with the drug and helps guides them in engaging their physician in a discussion about the drug.

- Availability of a generic equivalent. On average, generic drugs cost 60 percent less than brand name drugs, according to a 2006 study by Express Scripts.

- Flag indicating that a drug is new and has been on the market for less than one year

- Price range compared to other drugs

- Drug safety information, including side effects, drug interactions and official warnings and alerts.

HealthGrades licensed the information on the number of prescriptions filled for each prescription drug from IMS Health (NYSE: RX) and the drug safety and price information and from FirstDataBank, a division of Hearst Corporation.

HealthGrades' Prescription Drug Ratings can be found at HealthGrades.com.

About HealthGrades

Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD) is the leading healthcare ratings organization, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and prescription drugs. Millions of consumers and many of the nation's largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades' independent ratings and decision-support resources to make healthcare decisions based on the quality and cost of care. More information on the company can be found at http://www.HealthGrades.com.

HealthGrades