Association of Medication Persistency with Route of Administration and Patient Cost-Sharing: Analysis of Commonly Used Biologics.

Contact Information: Andrew Shim, PharmD, JD, MAM; email: [email protected] Among insured patients, out-of-pocket costs for biologics may be high. Previous research suggests higher cost-sharing for biologics is associated with higher rates of abandonment (failure to pick up a filled prescription at the pharmacy). Higher out-of-pocket costs also may affect medication persistency (continuation of the treatment for the prescribed duration). Route of administration also may affect adherence. Previous studies have reached various conclusions about persistency and adherence for anti-inflammatory biologics administered intravenously versus subcutaneously. 3-5 To improve understanding of factors related to persistency for biologics, we conducted a study using data from multiple, geographically diverse U.S. health plans. The study objectives were to: 1. Determine unadjusted rates of 12-month persistency for five commonly-used anti-inflammatory biologic agents 2. Identify cost-sharing level, route of administration and patient characteristics associated with persistency Background