Home Delivery a Gateway for Better Health and Value

Billions in Savings at Stake

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers are more likely to take their medications as directed and choose a money-saving generic drug when using a home delivery pharmacy instead of a retail pharmacy, according to results of two new studies from pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts (Nasdaq: ESRX).

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In one study, compliance, or taking a medication as prescribed by your doctor, was nearly eight percentage points higher for home delivery pharmacy patients taking medications to treat high blood pressure. These patients were 78.6 percent compliant, but those using a retail pharmacy were 70.8 percent compliant.

'It has been estimated that roughly half of patients do not take their medications as prescribed by their doctors. Understanding how to improve compliance is an important concern for all health care providers,' explained Emily Cox, Ph.D., a study author and leader of Express Scripts research department.

Cox explained that in addition to cost savings, home delivery promotes better medication compliance through patient communications such as refill reminders by phone or email, renewal assistance, a convenient reorder process, and less frequent re-ordering.

In the second study, a letter alerting patients to the availability of a generic alternative, the likelihood of choosing generics in home delivery was 34% greater compared to the impact in retail. The letters were sent following the introduction of generic Ambien(R) (zolpidem) in 2007.

Express Scripts estimates that use of generic sleeping aids will increase to 70 percent of all sleeping aid prescriptions in 2008. However, even that increase will not capture the $1.5 billion in additional savings available nationwide for commercial and government-paid plans from realizing the category's full generic potential of 95 percent.

'Billions in savings are at stake when you account for a similar impact in other therapy classes,' pointed out Cox. She added that home delivery customers responded at a higher level to a letter from Express Scripts because it clearly identified potential savings from using a generic that would provide the same therapeutic benefit.