Drug Prices Affect Doctors' and Patients' Behavior

Eliminating cost barriers can help heart patients follow the drug administration properly, finds a new study.

High prices of drugs are considered as the major reason for the patients to quit taking the drug and doctors not prescribing it. A new study found that removing this financial barrier might improve patient adherence to medications, potentially save many lives and increase the use of evidence-based therapies. The findings of the study were presented on March 11 at the American College of Cardiology annual scientific sessions meeting in Orlando.

"This study provides some good insights into medication-taking behavior and tackling the adherence problem, a big problem in the U.S," said study chair, Eric D. Peterson, executive director of the DCRI. "While financial issues are certainly part of the problem, a more complete answer will be needed to further improve adherence and patient outcomes."

Heart Attack - Overview
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.

‘Removing financial barriers will improve patient adherence to medicines and save many lives.’

The scientists enrolled 11,001 heart attack patients between June 2015 and June 2016 at hundreds of sites across the country in a study known as ARTEMIS. Doctors at participating hospitals provided usual care, but at roughly half the sites selected randomly, the cost of anti-platelet medications were offset by vouchers over the course of the study’s one-year span.

Payment vouchers eliminated price differences between an older generic therapy called clopidogrel and a newer, more effective version of the therapy, ticagrelor. Doctors had full discretion on which of the two drugs to prescribe.

The study found that clinicians were indeed sensitive to their patient cost concerns. When patient co-pays were covered, doctors were more than 30 percent more likely to prescribe the more effective drug.

Why Are We More Prone to Heart Attacks in the Morning?
Cardioprotective molecules are found to be less in the bloodstream in the morning. The lack of these cardio-protective molecules can increase the risk of blood clots and heart attacks in those times.

When patients were asked about their medication use, 80 to 85 percent reported that they filled all their prescriptions continuously, but the study’s analysis of pharmacy fill data indicated that only 55 percent had been fully compliant.

Regardless of the measure of medication use, the study confirmed that more of the patients who got the pay vouchers stuck to their recommended drug regimens. But those improvements did not appear to result in a reduced rate of death, heart attacks or strokes compared with patients who got usual care.

First One Hour After Heart Attack Is of Utmost Importance
Shortness of breath is the most common symptom of acute heart failure. From there, the symptoms become same as chronic or severe heart failure.

"Our study confirms some of our thoughts on how drug prices affect doctors and patients behaviors," said lead author Tracy Wang, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and member of DRCI.

"But we still have a lot of work to do to understand how we can both measure and improve treatment adherence," Wang said. "We should consider copayment reductions as part of broader initiatives to improve medication use and clinical outcomes."

Only 1 in 4 Indians can recognize Heart Attack Symptoms
Indians face the highest risk of heart disease in the world. More than half the population cannot identify the signs of heart attack. There is a great need for heart attack awareness among Indians.

Source-Eurekalert