Decreased Rx co-pays increase patient adherence

Removing economic barriers to treatment for chronic conditions encourages patients to remain on recommended therapies, according to a new study published today in the January/February 2008 issue of Health Affairs. The research, funded in part by UK-headquartered drug major GlaxoSmithKline, investigated the impact on drug adherence of reducing prescription co-payments - in addition to existing disease management programs - for employees of a leading service industry firm in the USA.

Although a lack of medication adherence can be attributed to several factors, the effects of high prescription drug co-payments have been studied extensively since they have often been used by employers and insurers to control drug expenditures.

The Impact of Decreasing Co-payments on Medication Adherence in the Context of a Disease Management Program was a 12-month study in which the company decreased co-payments for medicines used to treat various common chronic diseases. Co-payment rates for generic drugs were reduced from $5 to zero, while those for branded drugs were cut in half. A similar employer with identical disease management offerings and similar but stable co-payments served as a control group.