Medication Compliance Is Top of Employers’ Minds, According to New Survey
Washington, DC (November 19, 2009)--More employers are taking steps to improve their employees’ health by making sure they take their medicines as prescribed, a move that could stave off more serious and costly health consequences, according to a new report sponsored by the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Medication compliance, sometimes referred to as medication adherence, is simply following a medicine treatment plan developed by an individual’s health care provider, filling prescriptions, and taking medications as prescribed.
And the NPC report, Employer Medication Compliance Initiatives, which for the first time surveyed employers’ views and strategies on compliance, says 89% of employers acknowledge its importance to employee health. Only preventive care and lifestyle behaviors were rated more highly.
“It’s well documented that people with chronic diseases who take their medications as prescribed are healthier and more productive,” said NPC President Dan Leonard. “This study shows that employers are actively taking steps to encourage medication compliance to help improve the health and well-being of employees and their families.”
Medication compliance has long been acknowledged as a serious problem for the American health care system, costing billions of dollars in lost productivity, additional doctor visits, preventable hospitalizations and nursing home admissions, and even premature death.
The NPC report shows that diabetes is a key focus of medication compliance initiatives. Other conditions that warrant employer attention are high cholesterol, blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
To improve compliance, 95% of employers surveyed for the report say they are taking action, and the trend is toward more sophisticated interventions including employee education and additional prescription reminders by e-mail. Employers are often using their vendors to play a key role in analysis and intervention, with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and employee benefit consultants (EBCs) were most often cited.
Employers believe that focused and more sophisticated interventions from vendors are the most effective, with the highest ratings coming from those that focused on individuals with compliance issues and Value-Based Benefit Designs, which lower compliance barriers for high-value services.
The survey, conducted for NPC by the Benfield Group, had 75 responses along with 13 in-depth interviews. The survey targeted employee benefit directors, medical directors and other health management professionals with health management and pharmacy benefit decision-making authority or influence in large, self-insured corporations. An accompanying slide deck is available.
About the National Pharmaceutical Council
NPC’s overarching mission is to sponsor and conduct scientific analyses of the appropriate use of biopharmaceuticals and the clinical and economic value of innovation. The organization’s strategic focus is on evidence-based medicine (EBM) for health care decision-making, to ensure that patients have access to high-quality care. NPC was established in 1953 and is supported by the nation’s major research-based pharmaceutical companies. For more information, visit www.npcnow.org.