New Year Brings New Opportunities to Help Patients Maximize Plan Benefits and Reduce Costs

Research conducted during 2021 open enrollment found that among patients considering a change, nearly 30% were doing so for cost-related reasons, with 18% citing excessive out-of-pocket costs.

These findings are in addition to the estimated one-third of patients who report being unable to obtain a prescribed medication due to a lack of plan coverage.

As 2023 begins, pharmacists have a tremendous opportunity to help all patients – those who switched to new plans, those who stayed with their existing coverage, and those without coverage – obtain medications at a cost they can afford.  

The solution is referred to as “Real-Time Prescription Benefit” (RTPB).  It allows critical capabilities at point-of-care that include:

• Access to medication benefit information included in each patient’s plan.

• Identification of therapeutic alternatives that are covered by a patient’s plan.

• Price information for each medication, including patient out-of-pocket costs.

• Ability to avoid medications that require prior authorization and suggest alternatives.

Surescripts, the company that revolutionized the medication prescription process with its electronic prescribing solution, is pioneering RTPB technology for pharmacies. The company’s Real-Time Prescription Benefit for Pharmacy solution currently provides access to plan information for nearly 80% of insured Americans – roughly 254 million patients. Read More >>