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Physicians' willingness and barriers to considering cost when prescribing
Chien-Wen Tseng1, Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, Luella Manlucu
1cwtseng@hawaii.edu
Hawaii Medical Journal
|February 3, 2007
Summary
Physicians find medication costs important but lack access to drug formulary and copayment data. Insurers should provide this information at the point of prescribing to aid cost-conscious decisions.
Area of Science:
- Health economics
- Medical practice
- Pharmaceutical policy
Background:
- Patient medication affordability is a significant challenge.
- Physicians play a crucial role in prescribing decisions that impact patient costs.
- Understanding physician perspectives on cost is essential for improving access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess physicians' willingness to consider medication costs during prescribing.
- To identify barriers physicians face when attempting to incorporate cost information into their decisions.
- To explore potential solutions for improving cost-consciousness in prescribing.
Main Methods:
- A pilot survey was conducted among 54 physicians.
- The survey assessed physicians' attitudes towards considering prescription drug costs.
- Physicians were asked about the availability of formulary and copayment information.
Main Results:
- 98% of physicians surveyed considered medication cost an important factor in prescribing.
- A majority of physicians reported lacking access to formulary information (65%) and copayment details (59%).
- This indicates a significant gap in readily available cost data for prescribers.
Conclusions:
- Physicians are willing to consider medication costs but are hindered by a lack of accessible information.
- Insurers have an opportunity to support physicians by providing real-time drug coverage data.
- Integrating cost information at the point of prescribing could enhance cost-effective medication choices for patients.
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