What You Should Know:
– Survey data released by Surescripts, a health information network, showed that two-thirds (65%) of specialty prescribers and almost three-quarters (73%) of specialty pharmacists agree that the leading cause of delays in getting patients started on their specialty medications is due to issues often caused by outdated processes and paperwork required for prior authorization.
– The survey, taken this summer by 501 specialty pharmacists and prescribers of specialty medications, offers a look into these practices’ opinions and attitudes around a variety of health topics.
Increasing Accessibility to Efficient Healthcare By Reducing Delays
Delays in healthcare hold the potential for disastrous effects for the patient. A new survey released by Surescripts aimed to highlight the gravity concerning the matter of delays in healthcare. The survey revealed that around 501 specialty pharmacists and prescribers of quality medicines note that:
– Time to therapy should be faster, especially for specialty medications (aiming for 1-2 weeks)
– Accessing patient benefits and coverage is a top job stressor for pharmacists and prescribers
– Missing patient information causes critical delays, worser patient outcomes and increased burden on healthcare systems
The survey also analysed the top job stressors for pharmacists and prescribers, and noted that the delays in getting a patient started on potentially life-saving medication were primarily due to incomplete patient data and outdated paperwork processes. Key findings related to this are as follows:
– Determining if a patient’s insurance will cover their prescription is a top challenge across the board, especially for pharmacists. For prescribers, delayed or denied approvals is the most challenging job responsibility. These responsibilities were described as time consuming, stressful, and reducing the amount of time they had to focus on patients.
– In fact, 98% of specialty pharmacists say that having access to patient-specific benefit information is important when dispensing specialty medications, and 99% of specialty pharmacists agree that having this information would significantly benefit them and their teams when getting patients started on a new specialty therapy.
– However, 90% of prescribers say obtaining prior authorization on medications generally is challenging, with 27% saying it’s very challenging.
– 83% of prescribers and 85% of pharmacists say determining if a patient’s insurance will cover their prescription is challenging, with 27% of prescribers and 22% of pharmacists saying it’s very challenging.
Furthermore, the survey also identified the fact that both prescribers and pharmacists feel it should take less time to get patients on new specialty therapies – ideally 1-2 weeks. And 62% of prescribers and 59% of pharmacists say obtaining prior authorization is seen as the top impediment to getting patients on a new specialty therapy.
– 82% percent of prescribers believe it should take two weeks or less to get a patient on a new specialty therapy, yet just 22% say it currently takes two weeks or less. Among pharmacists, 87%believe it should take two weeks or less to get on a new specialty therapy, but only 33% say it currently takes two weeks or less.
– 91% of prescribers say the specialty enrollment process needs to be simplified
