Accredo Setting the Standard for Hep C Care
Reducing Failed Hep C Therapies by Half
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The high cost of the latest generation of hepatitis C drugs – Harvoni® and its predecessor Sovaldi® – are unprecedented and unsustainable for the country, priced unreasonably high in the U.S. market. But do you know what's even more expensive than paying nearly $100,000 for one of these treatments? Paying for it twice.
Lost in the national debate about hepatitis C drug pricing are the thousands of patients who begin these expensive therapies but fail to complete the full treatment regimen. For these patients, the consequences can be dire: failed cures, increased resistance to future therapy attempts, and the financial burden of paying to restart the entire regimen again.
While other specialty pharmacies have reported failure rates for Sovaldi in excess of 8.3%, patients who instead have filled their Sovaldi prescriptions through Accredo Specialty Pharmacy have failed to complete their therapy only 4.8% of the time.
That's right. Hep C patients who do not experience Accredo's unique clinical model are nearly twice as likely to fail their therapy.
The Cost of Failure
A typical therapy regimen that includes Sovaldi costs approximately $100,000 per patient. Even if a patient only fills her first 30-day prescription before discontinuing treatment, more than $30,000 is wasted. In addition, payers may need to spend another $100,000 for that same patient to restart and complete therapy.
When patients can stay on their therapy, while payers can avoid wasting $130,000 on unnecessary pharmacy spend, everyone wins.
Accredo's Unique Clinical Approach
Accredo's unique clinical approach helps ensure appropriate and cost-effective use of medications, and better treatment outcomes compared with other specialty pharmacies. Accredo offers:
- Patient Support: Accredo's Hepatitis Therapeutic Resource Center offers a team of clinically specialized clinicians who ensure that hep C patients receive the support needed to successfully complete therapy. Accredo also offers online and technology resources for patients including educational tools and a hep C mobile app.
- Payer Support: Accredo's patient support model can help payers save money by reducing waste. The online hep C cost and utilization calculator also allows plan sponsors to estimate their potential cost and budget for it.
- Proactive Intervention: Our state-of-the-art predictive model for hep C helps identify which patients may potentially have a lapse in therapy. Our trained clinicians, possessing in-depth knowledge of side effects and risks, can then provide extra support to help patients effectively manage their treatment.
Pills are amazing technology. They can lower cholesterol levels, make pain disappear, and even cure hepatitis C. However, to state the obvious, pills only work when people take them. Fortunately, Accredo provides the clinical support necessary to help patients stay on their therapies, achieve healthier outcomes, and reduce unnecessary healthcare spending.
For more information visit www.lab.express-scripts.com.
Contact: Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair, 314-684-6665, or Cell, 314-422-6108, [email protected]
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141105/156988-INFO
SOURCE Accredo
Share this article