Patients not taking their medicines loses US$564bn in global revenue
According to study by Capgemini and Healthprize Report
Programmes to address medication adherence should be a top priority for the pharmaceutical industry, according to a new study by Capgemini Consulting and Healthprize Report.
The US pharmaceutical industry loses an estimated US$188bn annually due to patients not taking their medicines. This represents 59% of the $320bn in total US pharmaceutical revenues in 2011, the report, Estimated Annual Pharmaceutical Revenue Loss Due to Medication Non-Adherence, reveals.
Global pharmaceutical revenue loss is estimated to be $564bn, or 59% of the $956bn in total global pharmaceutical revenues in 2011.
The study also finds that medication non-adherence is a problem across almost all chronic conditions, not only for primary care conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, but also for such serious conditions as HIV, oncology, transplant, and glaucoma.
In the US diabetes market alone, revenue loss is estimated to be $11.4bn.
Many people don't realise that a 10% boost in adherence could increase revenue by much more than 10%
‘The revenue that pharma leaves on the table due to lack of adherence to prescription medications is much higher than usually thought,’ says Thomas Forissier, Principal at Capgemini Consulting. ‘In addition, many people don't realise that a 10% boost in adherence could increase revenue by much more than 10%. That 10% loss is based on the higher revenue amount that could have materialised, not on actual revenue earned.’
Katrina Firlik, co-founder and chief medical officer at HealthPrize, added: ‘Medication non-adherence is one of the most serious problems in healthcare, posing a heavy financial impact on all constituencies.
‘For insurers, employers, and patients, non-adherence significantly increases healthcare costs as a result of disease-related complications. For pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, and pharmacy benefits managers, non-adherence significantly erodes profit due to prescriptions never filled and medications not taken often enough. Given the significant potential to enhance revenue and lower cost to the overall healthcare system, programmes to address medication adherence should be a top priority.’