Medication Adherence Falters as Out-of-Pocket Patient Costs Soar

By Sara Heath

Just over half of patients have poor medication adherence because their prescriptions are too expensive, according to new data from Surescripts, a trend that indicates providers need to learn more about what their patients can afford when prescribing a treatment.

The data, published in the Surescripts Prescription Price Transparency and Patient Experience survey, specifically shows that 53 percent of patients have chosen not to obtain a prescription because of cost. Twenty-nine percent said they did not take a medication because it took too long to fill.

This comes as the healthcare industry continues to zero in on medication adherence, a key factor to quality patient outcomes. When a patient doesn’t take her medication for any reason, she is more likely to see a chronic illness deteriorate, potentially resulting in a costly acute care episode.

Prescription drug affordability has emerged as one of the top factors contributing to poor medication adherence, pushing some cost containment strategies like price transparency to the forefront.

“A patient’s decision about whether or not to take a prescribed medication shouldn’t come down to how much it will cost and how long it will take to get,” said Tom Skelton, Surescripts CEO, said in a statement. “With access and affordability driving the nationwide healthcare agenda in 2020, it is critical that providers know the cost of a patient’s prescription based on their benefits plan, as well as the price of therapeutic alternatives, at the time they’re writing the prescription.”

A high level of prescription drug price transparency would go a long way, the survey of just over 1,000 adult patients showed. Ninety-four percent of patients said they’d be willing to take a low-cost alternative, but that would require their doctors to have access to a drug alternative list and to discuss those options with patients

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