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Ragavan MV, Swartz S, Clark M, Chino F. Pharmacy Assistance Programs for Oral Anticancer Drugs: A Narrative Review. JCO Oncol Pract 2024; 20:472-482. [PMID: 38241597 DOI: 10.1200/op.23.00295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Oral anticancer medications (OAMs) are high priced with a significant cost-sharing burden to patients, which can lead to catastrophic financial, psychosocial, and clinical repercussions. Cost-conscious prescribing and inclusion of low-cost alternatives can help mitigate this burden, but cost transparency at the point of prescribing remains a major barrier to doing so. Pharmacy assistance programs, including co-payment cards and patient assistance programs administered by manufacturers and foundation-based grants, remain an essential resource for patients facing prohibitive co-payments for OAMs. However, access to these programs is fraught with complexities, including lack of trained financial navigators, limited transparency on eligibility criteria, onerous documentation burdens, and limits in available funding. Despite these drawbacks and the potential for such programs to incentivize manufacturers to keep list prices high, assistance programs have been demonstrated to improve financial well-being for patients with cancer. The increasing development of integrated specialty pharmacies with dedicated, trained pharmacy staff can help improve and standardize access to such programs, but these services are disproportionately available to patients seen at tertiary care centers. Multistakeholder interventions are needed to mitigate the burden of cost sharing for OAMs, including increased clinician knowledge of financial resources and novel assistance mechanisms, investment of institutions in trained financial navigation services and centralized platforms to identify assistance programs, and policies to cap out-of-pocket spending and improve transparency of rates charged by pharmacy benefit managers to a health plan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meera V Ragavan
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA
| | - Scott Swartz
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Mackenzie Clark
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Fumiko Chino
- Affordability Working Group, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
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Jiang Y, Hwang M, Cho Y, Friese CR, Hawley ST, Manojlovich M, Krauss JC, Gong Y. The Acceptance and Use of Digital Technologies for Self-Reporting Medication Safety Events After Care Transitions to Home in Patients With Cancer: Survey Study. J Med Internet Res 2024; 26:e47685. [PMID: 38457204 PMCID: PMC10960221 DOI: 10.2196/47685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Actively engaging patients with cancer and their families in monitoring and reporting medication safety events during care transitions is indispensable for achieving optimal patient safety outcomes. However, existing patient self-reporting systems often cannot address patients' various experiences and concerns regarding medication safety over time. In addition, these systems are usually not designed for patients' just-in-time reporting. There is a significant knowledge gap in understanding the nature, scope, and causes of medication safety events after patients' transition back home because of a lack of patient engagement in self-monitoring and reporting of safety events. The challenges for patients with cancer in adopting digital technologies and engaging in self-reporting medication safety events during transitions of care have not been fully understood. OBJECTIVE We aim to assess oncology patients' perceptions of medication and communication safety during care transitions and their willingness to use digital technologies for self-reporting medication safety events and to identify factors associated with their technology acceptance. METHODS A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with adult patients with breast, prostate, lung, or colorectal cancer (N=204) who had experienced care transitions from hospitals or clinics to home in the past 1 year. Surveys were conducted via phone, the internet, or email between December 2021 and August 2022. Participants' perceptions of medication and communication safety and perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitude toward use, and intention to use a technology system to report their medication safety events from home were assessed as outcomes. Potential personal, clinical, and psychosocial factors were analyzed for their associations with participants' technology acceptance through bivariate correlation analyses and multiple logistic regressions. RESULTS Participants reported strong perceptions of medication and communication safety, positively correlated with medication self-management ability and patient activation. Although most participants perceived a medication safety self-reporting system as useful (158/204, 77.5%) and easy to use (157/204, 77%), had a positive attitude toward use (162/204, 79.4%), and were willing to use such a system (129/204, 63.2%), their technology acceptance was associated with their activation levels (odds ratio [OR] 1.83, 95% CI 1.12-2.98), their perceptions of communication safety (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.08-2.47), and whether they could receive feedback after self-reporting (OR 3.27, 95% CI 1.37-7.78). CONCLUSIONS In general, oncology patients were willing to use digital technologies to report their medication events after care transitions back home because of their high concerns regarding medication safety. As informed and activated patients are more likely to have the knowledge and capability to initiate and engage in self-reporting, developing a patient-centered reporting system to empower patients and their families and facilitate safety health communications will help oncology patients in addressing their medication safety concerns, meeting their care needs, and holding promise to improve the quality of cancer care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Jiang
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Misun Hwang
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Youmin Cho
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Christopher R Friese
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Sarah T Hawley
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- VA Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | | | - John C Krauss
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Yang Gong
- McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
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Lichtenstein MR, Beauchemin MP, Raghunathan R, Lee S, Doshi SD, Law C, Accordino MK, Elkin EB, Wright JD, Hershman DL. Association Between Copayment Assistance, Insurance Type, Prior Authorization, and Time to Receipt of Oral Anticancer Drugs. JCO Oncol Pract 2024; 20:85-92. [PMID: 38033273 PMCID: PMC10827292 DOI: 10.1200/op.23.00205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Oral anticancer drugs (OACDs) have become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. OACD prescriptions require coordination between payers and providers, which can delay drug receipt. We examined the association between insurance type, pursuit of copayment assistance, pursuit of prior authorization (PA), and time to receipt (TTR) for new OACD prescriptions. METHODS We prospectively collected data on new OACD prescriptions for adult oncology patients from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019, including demographic and clinical characteristics, insurance type, and pursuit of PA and copayment assistance. TTR was defined as the number of days from prescription to OACD receipt. We summarized TTR using cumulative incidence and compared TTR by insurance type, pursuit of copayment assistance, and PA activity using the log-rank test. RESULTS Our cohort of 1,024 patients was 53% male, and 40% were younger than 65. Twenty-six percent had commercial insurance only, 16% had Medicaid only, and 59% had Medicare with or without additional insurance. Eighty-six percent of prescriptions were successfully received. Across all prescriptions, 69% involved PA activity, and 21% involved the copayment assistance process. In unadjusted analyses, prescriptions involving the copayment assistance process had longer TTR compared with those not involving assistance (log-rank P value = .005) and OACDs covered by Medicare/commercial insurance had a longer TTR compared with Medicaid (log-rank P value = .006). The PA process was not associated with TTR (log-rank P value = .124). CONCLUSION The process for obtaining OACDs is complex. The copayment assistance process and Medicare/commercial insurance are associated with delayed TTR. New policies are needed to reduce time to OACD receipt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan R.L. Lichtenstein
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Melissa P. Beauchemin
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- School of Nursing, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Rohit Raghunathan
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Shing Lee
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Sahil D. Doshi
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
| | - Cynthia Law
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Melissa K. Accordino
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- School of Nursing, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Elena B. Elkin
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Jason D. Wright
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Dawn L. Hershman
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
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