If you haven’t already heard about the negative impact of formulary restrictions on adherence, well here it is. With mixed messages regarding formulary restrictions’ impact on patients, a recently published systematic literature review, published by Happe, et al., sought to get to the bottom this.
It analyzed 93 studies published in 1993 or later and found that formulary restrictions have a negative impact on medication adherence. Seeing this makes me wonder if formulary restrictions, which are intended to cut cost, actually lead to increased overall cost. I would say it’s not so much because of the fact that formulary restrictions exist as it is because of how they are implemented. For example, it’s known that prior authorizations are the bane of physicians’ and patients’ existences alike. But don’t you think that patients would be a little more adherent if the process were not so onerous?
Thank goodness formulary decision makers are here to abate costs, but there is always room for process improvement. Amidst health care costs that never seem to cease growing, could formulary restrictions actually be fueling the problem?
Our other journal
P&T Journal for November 2014
FEATURES
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Medications for Parkinson’s Disease
PERSPECTIVE
The Changing Roles of P&T Committees
Epilepsy Management: Newer Agents, Unmet Needs, and Future Treatment Strategies
PIPELINE PLUS
Modest Growth Seen in Epilepsy Market
MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
European Society of Cardiology and Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics
BOOK REVIEW
“Generic: The Unbranding of Modern Medicine,” by Jeremy A. Greene, MD, PhD
DEPARTMENTSMEDICATION ERRORS
Misadministration of IV Insulin Associated With Dose Measurement And Hyperkalemia Treatment
PRESCRIPTION: WASHINGTON
FDA’s Proposed 503B Draft Compounding Guidance Raises Concerns of All Kinds
New Drugs/Drug News
Pharmaceutical Approval Update
DRUG FORECAST
Riociguat (Adempas): a Novel Agent For the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension
Paul Lendner ist ein praktizierender Experte im Bereich Gesundheit, Medizin und Fitness. Er schreibt bereits seit über 5 Jahren für das Managed Care Mag. Mit seinen Artikeln, die einen einzigartigen Expertenstatus nachweisen, liefert er unseren Lesern nicht nur Mehrwert, sondern auch Hilfestellung bei ihren Problemen.