Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Huskamp, Haiden A
• Deverka, Patricia A
• Epstein, Robert S
• Epstein, Arnold M
• McGuigan, Kimberly A
• Frank, Richard G

Titel

The Effect of Incentive-Based Formularies on Prescription-Drug Utilization and Spending

Ist Teil von

• The New England journal of medicine, 2003-12, Vol.349 (23), p.2224-2232

Ort / Verlag

Boston, MA: Massachusetts Medical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2003

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Incentive-based formularies, in which the prices paid by patients for drugs are the lowest for generic drugs and the highest for nonpreferred brand-name drugs, are being used to encourage the use of cost-effective drugs. This study showed that the use of a three-tier incentive-based formulary along with an increase in copayments resulted in a shift from the use of more expensive drugs to the use of less expensive drugs. It also resulted in the patients' bearing a greater share of the overall cost of drugs and, among some patients, in the discontinuation of use of certain types of drugs altogether. Incentive-based formularies are an innovation designed to curb the increasing costs of prescription drugs. 1 An incentive-based or tiered formulary provides financial incentives (i.e., lower copayments) for enrollees to choose drugs that are preferred by the payer. 1 , 2 In contrast to closed formularies, which specify a limited number of drugs that are available for coverage in each class, incentive-based formularies are intended to preserve choice for patients and physicians by providing some level of coverage for most drugs while encouraging patients and their physicians to select the drugs that are more cost effective for the plan. At the same time, the . . .