Experts Make a Business Case for Pursuing Medication Adherence Initiatives
NCHC Forum on Capitol Hill Features Medication Adherence Successes

The National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) convened a Capitol Hill Forum today featuring experts on initiatives to increase medication adherence —an area for improving health outcomes and lowering costs that the event’s organizers believe has been underexplored by both policymakers and purchasers of health care.

“Efforts to improve medication adherence fall in the rare and precious budget terrain of initiatives that can produce a ‘win-win’ for all stakeholders—consumers, providers, payers alike. Greater adherence by patients to prescribed regimens could both increase medication use and lower total health care costs by improving outcomes from medication therapy,” explained John Rother, President and CEO of NCHC.

Despite its benefits, proper adherence to prescribed medication regimens, particularly for treatment of chronic diseases, is remarkably low. Recent studies show that 20 to 30 percent of prescriptions are never filled, and 50 percent of medications are not taken as prescribed. Non-adherence costs the US health care system between $100 and $289 billion a year in direct costs.[1]

“Clearly we have both a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous challenge,” said Rother. “The opportunity is the substantial savings that could be achieved by improving patients’ health.   The challenge is finding sustainable interventions that can be scaled up to improve medication adherence, produce better health outcomes, and lower costs.”

The event’s speakers all have experience with successful initiatives to improve adherence. They included Josh Benner, PharmD, ScD, President and CEO of RxAnte; Troy Trygstad, PharmD, MBA, PhD, Director of the Network Pharmacist Program at Community Care of North Carolina; Brian K. Solow, MD, Chief Medical Officer of OptumRx; and Sachin Jain, MD, Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer of Merck and Co.

“Evidence suggests that self-management of chronic diseases could save $10 for every $1 spent.^[2]  To realize those savings, we are going to have to build on the successes of the programs featured at today’s forum,” concluded Rother.

NCHC has offered its own specific recommendations to improve medication adherence, which can be found in the organization’s recently released plan for health and fiscal policy—Curbing Costs, Improving Care: The Path to an Affordable Health Care Future.

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The National Coalition on Health Care, the oldest and most diverse group working to achieve comprehensive health system reform, is a 501(c)(3) organization representing more than 80 participating organizations, including medical societies, businesses, unions, health care providers, faith-based associations, pension and health funds, insurers and groups representing consumers, patients women , minorities and persons with disabilities. Member organizations collectively represent – as employees, members, or congregants – over 100 million Americans.Some members of the National Coalition Health Care (NCHC) do not, or cannot, take positions either on specific legislation, strategies or on any policies outside their respective mission areas. However, all that can, do endorse broad policy positions in support of comprehensive health system change.