Downers Grove, IL – Coventry recently announced the release of the first part of its 2017 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.
With this report Coventry is continuing to distribute its trends analyses in shorter, easier-to-digest installments rather than as a single voluminous document. Coventry based its decision on the supportive feedback many offered when they adopted this approach for reporting 2016 results a year ago.
The first volume of 2017 data focuses on the traditional view and includes First Script retail and mail-order prescription data and accounts for 69.6% of the total pharmacy transactions and 71.2% of the paid amount. This view represents a benchmark for traditional industry reports including First Script’s historical reporting.
Non-traditional channels including physician dispensing, repackaging, third-party billers, compounding, and specialty pharmacies are addressed later in the series.
Key trends from the traditional view include:
- Overall prescription cost per claim decreased 6.8% between 2016 and 2017
- Average Wholesale Price (AWP) trended up 4.4% overall in 2017
- Opioids continue to trend positively with an 10.7% drop in utilization and a 14.4% decline in cost per claim
- Average Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) per script decreased 6.6%, the most significant decrease in the last three years
- Compound drug costs per claim declined 60%, including a 52.7% drop in utilization
View the first part of the Series here: Coventry: 2017 First Script Drug Trends Series, Part 1 (PDF)
Disclosure:
Coventry is a WorkCompWire ad partner.
This is not a paid placement.