Researchers from University of Southern California Report New Studies and Findings in the Area of Managed Care (The Price May Not Be Right: The Value…

Researchers from University of Southern California Report New Studies and Findings in the Area of Managed Care (The Price May Not Be Right: The Value of Comparison Shopping for Prescription Drugs)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on Managed Care. According to news reporting out of Los Angeles, California, by VerticalNews editors, research stated, "To measure variations in drug prices across and within zip codes that may reveal simple strategies to improve patients' access to prescribed medications. We compared drug prices at different types of pharmacies across and within local markets."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Southern California, "In-store prices were compared with a Web-based service providing discount coupons for prescription medications. Prices were collected for 2 generic antibiotics because most patients have limited experience with them and are less likely to know the price ranges for them. Drug prices were obtained via telephone from 528 pharmacies in Los Angeles (LA) County, California, from July to August 2014. Online prices were collected from GoodRx, a popular Web-based service that aggregates available discounts and directly negotiates with retail outlets. Drug prices found at independent pharmacies and by using discount coupons available online were lower on average than at grocery, big-box, or chain drug stores for 2 widely prescribed antibiotics. The lowest-price prescription was offered at a grocery, big-box, or chain drug store in 6% of zip codes within the LA County area. Drug prices varied dramatically within a zip code, however, and were less expensive in lower-income areas. The average price difference within a zip code was $52 for levofloxacin and $17 for azithromycin. Price shopping for medications within a small geographic area can yield considerable cost savings for the uninsured and consumers in high-deductible health plans with high negotiated prices."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Clinicians and patient advocates have an incentive to convey this information to patients to improve adherence to prescribed medicines and lower the financial burden of purchasing prescription drugs."

For more information on this research see: The Price May Not Be Right: The Value of Comparison Shopping for Prescription Drugs. American Journal of Managed Care, 2017;23(7):410-415. American Journal of Managed Care can be contacted at: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting G. Joyce, Univ Southern Calif, Leonard D Schaeffer Center Hlth Policy & Econ, Sch Pharm, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States. Additional authors for this research include N. Sood, S. Terp and S. Arora.

Keywords for this news article include: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America, Managed Care, Drugs and Therapies, University of Southern California.

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