Search is Powered by Google
Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News

PCMA: New Commonwealth Fund Survey Shows Patients Are Skipping Care Due To Costs, USA

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Pharmacy / Pharmacist;  Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP;  Public Health
Article Date: 16 Nov 2008 - 0:00 PST

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

A new survey from the Commonwealth Fund comparing patients in the United States to those in seven other countries finds more than half of chronically ill patients did not get recommended care, fill prescriptions, or see a doctor when sick because of costs. The survey underscores the importance for patients in exploring lower cost options, including generics, mail-service pharmacies, and electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) said.

"Consumers should explore available prescription drug cost-saving options, including generics and mail-service pharmacies," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. "Patients can save even more if they find a doctor who uses e-prescribing, which shows when more affordable options are available."

PCMA believes policymakers should explore other cost-savings options, including:

- Accelerating adoption of waste-cutting health information technologies such as e-prescribing that alert patients and doctors alike when affordable choices are available;
- Promoting comparative effectiveness programs which will improve clinical decision-making, enhance quality and discourage wasteful spending;
- Allowing greater use of mail service pharmacies in federal programs;
- Allowing generic competition for biologics and greater formulary competition in Part D; and
- Having CBO, OMB and others re-examine provisions in Medicare Part D that increase costs but don't help beneficiaries.

The Commonwealth Fund surveyed 7,500 chronically ill patients in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Key findings included:

- More than half (54%) of chronically ill patients in the United States did not get recommended care, fill prescriptions, or see a doctor when sick because of costs, compared to 7 to 36 percent in other countries.

- One-third of patients in the United States-more than in any other country-reported either being given the wrong medication or dosage, experiencing a medical error, receiving incorrect test results, or facing delays in hearing about abnormal test results.

- Nearly half (46%) of U.S. patients reported their time had been wasted because of poorly organized care or they had received care of little or no value during the past two years.

PCMA (Pharmaceutical Care Management Association) is the national association representing America's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association




Customized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Home About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Links Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Contact Us
Urology
ADHD Autism Diabetes

add medical news today to your facebook

medical news gadget

Add to Google


developers
website gadget code
website news code
medical news rss feed links


customize your homepage


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Dallas Morning News Examines Differences Between McCain, Obama Health Plans
19 Aug 2008
The Dallas Morning News on Saturday examined how, although "Democratic health care proposals may have gotten more attention during the primaries," the plan proposed by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen...


LASIK Surgery - Trading in Lenses for Laser
LASIK Surgery - Trading in Lenses for Laser

For millions of Americans, LASIK ends years of dependence on glasses and contact lenses. But there are risks, and the surgical procedure is not for everyone.

more videos are available in our health videos section.