AMNews: May 6, 2002. AARP campaign attacks rising drug costs ... American Medical News

AARP campaign attacks rising drug costs

Ad effort focuses on increasing patient awareness about generics and compliance with prescription drugs.

By Stephanie Stapleton, AMNews staff. May 6, 2002. Additional information

Washington -- Physicians are familiar with the scenario.

During a regular checkup, a patient brings in lists of formulary medications or asks about generic alternatives to his or her medications. The patient's goal is to find a way to reduce out-of-pocket drug costs.

But according to AARP, that scenario doesn't occur nearly enough. The organization's example is 70-year-old Rita Cohen. If she would have asked her doctor about the generic equivalent of her cholesterol medication, the group says, she could have saved 45% a month in out-of-pocket costs. And so could millions of others.

As a result, AARP last month launched a $10 million national advertising campaign to increase patients' understanding about generics as alternatives to brand-name drugs, improve compliance with prescribed regimens, and reduce harmful interactions and overmedication.

The campaign is part of the organization's three-pronged attack against "the high cost of prescription drugs," said Bill Novelli, executive director and CEO. AARP is also engaged in a legislative effort to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and is participating in state litigation to hold down drug costs, he added. Ultimately, Novelli said, the goal is to help save money and improve health status.

"It's perfectly appropriate for AARP to make its own recommendations as long as the information is thorough and correct," said Jeffrey Trewhitt, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. "Generics play an important role, and this reminder is good." But in the end, it is doctors who make the final decision about what is best, he added.

1 in 5 Americans has left a prescription unfilled.

Central to the AARP position is the notion that price matters and that consumers must be able to purchase the most for their medication dollars. The emphasis on generics stems from a recent AARP survey of Americans older than 45 that pointed to consumer confusion regarding this aspect of the pharmaceutical marketplace.

Specifically, 95% had heard about generic prescription drugs. And, "though nearly everyone knows about [them], less than one-third of consumers ask about generic drugs," said Shereen Remez, PhD, AARP's director of knowledge management. Twenty-eight percent of respondents believed these drugs differed from brand-name drugs. The majority of those who believed they were different thought they were less effective or of poorer quality.

The brand-name familiarity created by direct-to-consumer drug advertising is also a factor, said Novelli. "It's overwhelming." Last year, the pharmaceutical industry spent about $2.5 billion on these ads.

"We're not opposed to [these] ads," he said. "This is not a campaign to attack the drug industry. What we are attacking are the rising costs."

PhRMA's Trewhitt agreed with the nature of AARP's effort, saying it was not necessarily a "negative" but a "countering" campaign. But he added that the need to raise awareness about generic options is "mildly confusing to us. The notion that generic drugs are "lost in the shuffle" is hardly the case, he added. "They are part of the culture already. This is not a new idea."

Meanwhile, AARP's research indicates that 75% of Americans age 45 and older use prescription drugs on a regular basis. But one-third of the respondents said they don't always tell their doctors about other medications they take -- putting them at risk of adverse drug interactions. In addition, 28% reported that they have stopped taking a drug before the prescription ran out, and one in five said that they have, in the past two years, decided not to fill a prescription. Cost is the No. 1 reason. Other factors were side effects or improved condition.

"We see an opportunity here," Novelli said. The bottom line message in encouraging people to check up on the medications they are taking is that, "Our health and well-being is in our own hands as much as it is in the hands of our doctors," he added.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Rx checkup

The AARP's new wise use of medications educational campaign offers consumers the following advice:

Take medications exactly as directed, but first call around and compare drug prices.
Avoid paying too much for prescriptions. Generics may work as well as brand names.
Tell your physician and pharmacist everything you're taking. Some medicines don't interact well.
Do not let advertising sell you on drugs you don't need.

HEALTH & SCIENCE

AARP campaign attacks rising drug costs

Ad effort focuses on increasing patient awareness about generics and compliance with prescription drugs.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Rx checkup

Additional information