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The Impact of Step-Therapy Policies on Patients

By Xcenda

When payers insert themselves into the clinical decision-making process, it can diminish the trust and confidence patients have in their healthcare providers. Download this complimentary paper written by Xcenda in collaboration with Madelaine A. Feldman, MD, FACR that explores the practice of step therapy and its impact on key stakeholders in the US healthcare system.

WHITEPAPER

The Impact of Step-Therapy Policies on Patients

The doctor-patient relationship sits at the center of the healthcare system, but when payers like employers and health plans insert themselves into the clinical decision-making process, it can diminish the trust and confidence patients have in their healthcare providers.
Key takeaways include:

  • While payers think that step therapy has little to no downside in treatment, patients and physicians feel differently.
  • Payer requirements for patients to first try a medication that is not preferred for them by their provider and may not be effective resulted in more missed work, more out-of-pocket expenses, and more of a decreased quality of life.
  • Step therapy results in chronically ill patients, like those with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, having to pay more out of their own pockets, leading to increased rates of nonadherence compared to those not experiencing step therapy.
  • Policies that result in forced drug switching, treatment gaps, and cessation of effective therapy are dangerous to patients because of the potential for disease flares, negative immune responses, adverse effects, and complete loss of response.

Download this complimentary paper written by Xcenda in collaboration with Madelaine A. Feldman, MD, FACR that explores the practice of step therapy and its impact on key stakeholders in the United States healthcare system.