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Good
morning !
Ask an AARP member about drug costs and they’ll tell you that
they are "too high". Ask them how much they should spend on
drugs and get a blank stare or the word “NOTHING”. What they are
really saying is “I don’t care how much it costs as long as
somebody else pays for it!”
The reality is that each individual has a personal ideal
drug spend (PIDS) that will optimize his/her health.
(Regardless of who pays). There will be a cost associated with
the ideal drug regimen. This ideal drug spend will avoid under
utilization, non-compliance,
under-treatment,
over treatment, excessive quantities, and excessive duration of
therapy. It will encompass use of preventive habits, generic
drugs, less expensive medication prior to using the most
expensive new drugs on the market, and the least costly pharmacy
(often mail order). Physicians and pharmacists should be helping
patient to achieve the ever changing personal ideal drug
spend (PIDS).
This got me to thinking…. Is there an Ideal Drug Spend for
companies as well? Corporate ideal drug regimen (CIDS) if
you will. Many a CFO would think like the AARP member and try to
do away with the drug benefit. This would be costly in many
ways. Healthy employees show up for work and are more productive
and cost less than those who are sick. Drugs maintain health as
well as curing diseases. Workers who take care of their health
while on the job are often less of a financial burden when they
retire. There will be a cost associated with the corporate
ideal drug regimen (CIDS). This corporate ideal will avoid
the same things that the personal ideal drug spend hits:
under-utilization, non-compliance,
under-treatment,
over treatment, excessive quantities, and excessive duration of
therapy. It will stress wellness, generic drugs, stepped
therapies, and mail order pharmacy.
So who is going to diagnose a company's need for programs to
reach their corporate ideal drug spend, monitor progress and
make adjustments over time? The pharmacy consultant or the
pharmacist at your PBM might be the right resources. Every
patient is different and requires a different drug mix, amount,
and duration of therapy. So too, every company will have an
individual ideal. You are all unique and require individual
assessment and suggestions.
Be sure that your goals are expressed up front and that your
advisor's goals are aligned with yours. Just as you wouldn't
want your members taking "Snake Oil" remedies, you need to make
sure that the advice you receive benefits you more than anyone
else. I believe you can achieve both your personal and corporate
ideal drug spend.
ps. Best answer this week to
the question "How are you?" ...
"The
best I've ever been!"
pps
also
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