Taking a Long-Term Maintenance Medication?
New Survey Suggests Getting your Medications in 6- and 12- months supply may be Better for You
Are you currently taking medication(s) for long durations to manage a chronic condition? Then this article is right for you.
Some of you may refer to this type of medication as your maintenance medications, recurring medication, or long-term medication. At Marley Drug we call it Wholesale Price List.
Whatever you call it, there is growing support among physicians and pharmacists that filling these types of medications in 6- and 12-month supply may be better for patients and the healthcare system as a whole.
What is Marley Drug's Wholesale Price List?
Our Wholesale Price List offers medications in longer durations than are typically done, in a 6-month or 12-month supply.
Marley Drug's Wholesale Price List garnered national attention in 2012 when it was first launched. The list was built with the patient in mind. One prescription fill, one-fixed price, and free home delivery for over 100 generic medications (see full list).
There are many obvious benefits of filling prescriptions in a longer supply when it comes to cost convenience for patients. However, a new online survey conducted amongst 400 cardiologists, endocrinologist, primary care practitioners and pharmacists survey suggests that there may also be a health benefit for patients as well!
Benefits of Marley Drug's Wholesale Price List
When it comes to long-term maintenance medication to manage chronic illnesses, 84% of those surveyed agreed that prescribing in 6- and 12-month quantities could increase patient’s adherence and management of their chronic condition. In terms of safety, 89% of physicians and 72% of pharmacists felt that writing these types of medications would be safe to patients.
Among physicians surveyed, they agreed that longer fills of medications would lead to:
- Improved adherence—83%
- Fewer pharmacy visits—91%
- Less frequent refills—97%
- Reduced administrative load—91%
Among the 100 pharmacists surveyed they said longer fills would:
- Improve convenience—96%
- Reduce cost—80%
Risks of Longer Fills
Longer fills aren't perfect and do present some potential risk or problems for patients as well.
For example, if the medication was not effective for the patient 92% agreed there would be leftover medication and 87% acknowledged that there would be no cost reimbursement for that unused medication.
51% of those surveyed also felt that refilling medications may be more difficult to remember as it isn’t being done as frequently.
65% also agreed that there is a risk that patients may not store the medication properly.
Most Physicians Would Write Longer Prescriptions…If They Could
In fact, 93% said they would write for a 6-month supply and 78% said they would write for a 12-month supply.
So why don’t they? This has a lot to do with the rules set in place by insurance companies and healthcare plans in the U.S. Typically there is a quantity limit set for medications that allows up to a 30-day or 90-day fill. Other times insurance companies will create rules/pathways patients must go through, called prior authorizations.
In this survey, 77% said that insurance limits refills to 30 days for some medications, 91% agreed that insurance companies can alter their choice of medication(s) for their patients.
The Take Home
94% of healthcare providers surveyed said if insurance wasn’t a barrier, they would write in 6-to-12-month supply to help patients save more.
How Marley Drug Can Help
At Marley Drug we don’t use insurance, so we don’t have these same limitations as other pharmacies. There are no coupons or savings cards; just one fixed price for over 100 generic medications on our Wholesale Price List.
Many of our customers are surprised at how much they can save by paying cash for their medications. We buy our medications directly from wholesalers and sell these directly to you. There are no middlemen involved which keeps your price low.
Be sure to check out our price on our website for your medication today. Just type the medication into the search bar above.
References
1 Ipsos Survey (conducted May 24 – June 4, 2021)