NPC Presents Two Posters During AcademyHealth's 2022 Annual Research Meeting

NPC is excited to present two posters during the AcademyHealth 2022 Annual Research Meeting (ARM): 

• How Did Medication Use Patterns Change Due to COVID-19 For People with Chronic Conditions?, presented by Salama Freed, PhD, NPC and Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy Post-doctoral Health Policy Fellow (Sunday, June 5 from 2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.)
• Specialty Drug Use and Healthcare Utilization Vary by Wage Level in Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, presented by Chief Scientific Officer Sharon Phares, PhD, MPH (Monday, June 6 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET)

We are also excited to have Dr. Sharon Phares participate in the "Meet-the-Experts" Student Breakfast on Sunday, June 5. More information is below

The AcademyHealth 2022 ARM is the premier event for health services research, convenes a large and diverse group of stakeholders at the intersection of health, health care, and policy to share important findings and showcase the latest research on how the health system works, what it costs, and how to improve it. The meeting is being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.                                                                      

On Sunday, June 5, Sharon Phares, PhD, MPH, is pleased to join the annual roundtable "Meet-the-Experts" Breakfast for students. 

Objectives:  Disruptions in health care delivery may lead to adverse patient outcomes by negatively impacting patients’ abilities to manage their chronic conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially disrupted the delivery of outpatient care as evidence by substantial declines in emergency department visits and outpatient ambulatory care. A large body of evidence demonstrates that barriers in accessing primary care, such as increased cost sharing or fragmented care, reduce medication adherence and leads to worse health outcomes for certain chronic conditions. We build on this research by quantifying the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacted medication adherence for patients diagnosed with chronic conditions.  

Authors:

• Salama S. Freed, PhD, NPC and Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy Post-doctoral Health Policy Fellow (Presenter)
• Sumedha Gupta Ariely, PhD, Associate Professor of the Practice of Global Health, Duke-Margolis Global Health Institute
• Hailemichael Shone, MS, Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
• Nancy Allen LaPointe, PharmD, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine
• M. Kate Bundorf, Ph.D.,J. Alexander McMahon Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management, Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy
• Kosali Simon, PhD, Herman B. Wells Endowed Professor, Indiana University

Background: Expenditures on specialty medications for autoimmune conditions (SpRx-AIC) have increased considerably in recent years, raising affordability concerns for employers, and resulting in greater patient cost sharing.

Objectives: To assess the association of wage status on SpRx-AIC use and cost patterns among employees with employer-sponsored health insurance.

Presenter:

• Sharon Phares, PhD, MPH, Chief Scientific Officer, National Pharmaceutical Council

Authors:

• Brian Sils, MPP, Research Manager, National Pharmaceutical Council 
• Bruce Sherman, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Case Western Reserve University
• Leah Kamin, MPH, Anaylitic Advisor, IBM Watson Health
• Kimberly Westrich, MA, Vice President of Health Services Research, National Pharmaceutical Council