There are a lot of great benefits to having a pharmacy benefit management company — or PBM for short — including access to needed drugs, monitoring of drug efficacy and prevention of possibly dangerous drug interactions. But the benefit that really hits home is the money that PBMs can save pharmacy patients and their benefit plans.
How much do PBMs save? Here are the details.
According to the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), PBMs save patients and health plans $123 per brand prescriptions. These savings are generated through rebate programs, direct negotiation with pharmaceutical manufacturers and programs to manage and control the total cost of prescription medicine to the consumer as noted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Additionally, according to the Federal trade Commission, PBMs achieve cost-savings by encouraging competition for more generic medicines, helping reduce prescription drug costs for more than 266 million Americans.
This all results in an average yearly savings of nearly $1,000 per person.
PBMs save money and save lives
Savings and safety go hand-in-hand when a PBM is involved in the procurement and delivery of prescription medicines for patients. It’s estimated that every single year, PBMs will help prevent more than 100 million medication errors by reviewing newly prescribed drugs, checking for drug interactions and alerting pharmacies and doctors of potential risks.
This careful oversight results in healthier patients and fewer mishaps. One study shows that, for diabetes patients, PBMs help prevent more than 480,000 heart failures, 230,000 cases of kidney disease, 180,000 strokes and 8,000 amputations. Every single year.For more about how VativoRx can help as your PBM, reach out to us on our contact page, or call 888-488-5750 to speak directly with a PBM specialist.
