Patient Empowerment: A New Virus Facing the Medical Community

It’s a bad time to be a salesperson for a pharmaceutical company. Drug costs are on the rise, many insurance companies are denying coverage and, most importantly, patients and doctors are beginning a dialogue that could forever alter our nation’s health care system.

The genesis of these frank practitioner-patient conversations stems from an almost viral movement among Americans. Once people have realized that there are ways to save money on health care costs – that, in fact, they aren’t always offering the most affordable options – word has spread. One person talked to her doctor about generic options for a prescription, her doctor researched potential alternatives and discovered a method for cost-savings. Thrilled by the possibility of saving money on medical care, the patient told her friends about her experience, they told their friends and so on.

This recent demand for price transparency, this revolution of patient empowerment, is the result of incentive and information. Wanting – and needing – to save money (the incentive) drives patients to speak with their doctors about options (the information). Likewise, many doctors and pharmacists are beginning to educate their patients about treatment and prescription alternatives. Consider the following two testimonials, which illustrate the importance – and effectiveness – of this phenomenon.

From a pleasantly surprised patient:
“Yesterday, I was discussing prescription options during an appointment with my doctor. As we talked, he visited the HealthEquity website. After a quick consultation with the site’s question-and-answer feature, my physician switched one of my prescriptions to another brand, yielding an annual saving of $1,330. He doubled the dosage of another prescription and found that by simply splitting pills in half would save me $180. I’m thrilled that HealthEquity saved me over $1500 today, but I’m most impressed that it also taught my doctor an easy way to save patients a lot of money.”

From a savvy shopper:
“I recently needed to pick up a prescription for my wife. Our doctor understands our insurance and always researches the least expensive alternative for us. He prescribed a generic that we found online for around $10. Because I was in a hurry, I pulled into a pharmacy chain. I thought, “it's only a generic, how expensive can it be?” The pharmacy technician announced that it cost $44. I confirmed that she was referring to the proper generic rather than its brand-named alternative, and told her that it should cost around $10. She spoke to the pharmacist and they looked online. She returned with a new price of $4. Obviously I inquired about the considerable cost difference, even from the generic price I’d quoted. She replied that, if asked to do so, the pharmacy will match Walmart’s new low prices on generic medications.

I’m glad I asked!”

As you can see, patient empowerment is a pleasant epidemic. Do your research, communicate with your doctor and share your experience with friends. Doing your part to spread this “virus” will help refine our nation’s health care system.