FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.,
June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients
with high cholesterol who regularly take their cholesterol-lowering
medications have significantly fewer hospitalizations from
cardiovascular problems and can reduce their health care costs by
as much as $944 over 18 months,
according to research published in the June
1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100609/MEDCOLOGO)
The study conducted by the Medco Research Institute®, the
research subsidiary of Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS),
examined the financial impact of patient adherence to statins --
medications that help reduce high cholesterol levels. Statins
include such blockbuster drugs as Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium)
and Crestor® (rosuvastatin calcium), as well as widely used
generics such as simvastatin and pravastatin.
The study found that the adherent patient group had
significantly lower odds of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations
compared to the non-adherent group. Health care costs for
patients who were least compliant with their medications were nine
percent higher than the patients who followed their prescribed
treatment regimen. Those who took their statins regularly had
higher drug costs that were offset by lower medical costs leading
to lower total healthcare costs.
"It's important for patients to understand that taking statins
as prescribed does more than simply lower cholesterol – they help
lower the patient's risk of heart attack and stroke. And now,
as this study suggests, their health costs could be lower, too,"
said JoAnne Foody, M.D., a co-author
of the study and Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Wellness
Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital. As health care
providers, we must engage our patients about the importance of
medication adherence."
"In this study, we found that nearly one in three patients had
poor adherence to their statin therapy, something that patients and
their physicians can work together to improve, and potentially save
the health care system billions of dollars annually," added
Donald Pittman, PharmD, study lead
author and National Practice Leader for the Medco Cardiovascular
Therapeutic Resource Center®. "Medco's cardiovascular
specialist pharmacists speak with patients every day and hear the
very common reasons for non-adherence: lack of symptoms associated
with high cholesterol, side-effects of the medications, and cost.
Fortunately, these are issues we can address by working with
patients, and their physicians, to improve adherence to statins and
other cardiovascular medications."
Study Details
The study examined de-identified data from Medco's integrated
pharmacy and medical claims for 381,000 patients aged 18 to 61 who
received statin therapy between January
2007 and June 2009. The
patient population had an average age of 53 and was 59 percent
male. Co-morbidities in the study group included high blood
pressure (52.1 percent), coronary artery disease (15.2 percent),
diabetes (25.4 percent), and depression (8.6 percent).
Medical and pharmaceutical claims records were analyzed to
determine the level of adherence for each patient. While more
than two-thirds of the patients were found to be adherent to their
statin therapy, 17 percent were identified as moderately adherent
and 15 percent were poorly adherent, taking their medication less
than 60 percent of the time. Patients who took their
cholesterol medications 90 percent or more of the time had total
health care costs of $10,162,
compared with $11,106 for the group
of patients who were poorly adherent – a difference of $944 over the 18-month study period. The
most adherent patients spent $3,523
on their medications versus $3,392
for the patients with an adherence rate less than 60 percent.
For more information about this study, please visit
www.medcoresearchinstitute.com.
About Medco Research Institute
Medco Research Institute® is an evidence-based research
organization focused solely on novel research, analytics and new
discoveries that close the gap between scientific discovery and
medical practice for improved patient outcomes and lower overall
healthcare costs. More information about the Medco Research
Institute's peer-reviewed research can be found at
www.medcoresearchinstitute.com.
About Medco
Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering
the world's most advanced pharmacy® and its
clinical research and innovations are part of Medco making
medicine smarter™ for more than 65 million members.
With more than 24,000 employees worldwide dedicated to improving
patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and
private sector clients, and 2010 revenues of $66 billion, Medco ranks 34th on the 2011
Fortune 500 list and is named among the world's most
innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies.
For more information, go to http://www.medcohealth.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may
cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the
statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and
actual results may differ materially from those projected. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but
rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions
and projections about the business and future financial results of
the pharmacy benefit management ("PBM") and specialty pharmacy
industries, and other legal, regulatory and economic
developments.
SOURCE Medco Health Solutions, Inc.