Downers Grove, IL – Coventry recently announced the release of the second part of its 2016 Drug Trends Series, which is based on all calendar year transactions billed through its PBM Program, First Script, as well as transactions from medical bill review to reflect the total pharmacy experience for their client base.
When releasing part one (PDF), Coventry noted that they are continuing to present data for traditional, managed, and unmanaged views; however, they are now sharing the information in shorter, more-condensed pieces delivered every few weeks vs. one large manuscript.
This second piece in the series focuses on the “managed” and “unmanaged” views. The managed data takes the traditional view (retail + mail order) and adds prescriptions from our extended network. The unmanaged data represents the out-of-network prescriptions that are received and processed through medical bill review.
Key trends from this piece included:
- Generic utilization continues to trend positively, increasing by at least 1% pt. for both prescription populations (managed 85.7%, unmanaged 81.8%).
- The usage of generics, when available, is consistently high for the managed population at 97%, and continues to improve for the unmanaged population (+1% pt. to 95.7%).
- Opioid utilization continues to decrease in both groups, declining 1.1% pt. for managed (30.1%) and 2.1% pts. for unmanaged (13.5%).
- Specific non-opioid drug classes, such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and anticonvulsants for the managed group, and NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, and non-opioid analgesics for the unmanaged group, continue to rise with the decline in opioid use.
- Compounds, while remaining among the top ten in drug costs, have declined in utilization across both population groups, accounting for 0.4% of managed scripts (0.6% in 2015), and 4.2% of unmanaged scripts (4.6% in 2015).
View Part 2 here: Coventry 2016 First Script Drug Trends Report Series, Part 2 (PDF)
or Catch up on Part 1 here: Coventry 2016 First Script Drug Trends Report Series, Part 1 (PDF)
Source: Coventry
Disclosure:
Coventry is a WorkCompWire ad partner.
This is not a paid placement.