NPC and CEVR Researchers Find That Patient Voices Are Missing in Discussions on Drug Coverage

August 6, 2021

Researchers at the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) and the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (CEVR) at Tufts Medical Center carried out a study to determine much input patients have when it comes to payer coverage of specialty drugs. The study, published in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy, notes that patients have very little input in a process that is intended to improve their health. The study’s authors call for greater engagement with patients.

NPC Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer Dr. Robert Dubois remarks, “Patients experience diseases in ways that payers may not foresee – the challenges they face both with the burden of that disease and the treatments they need to undergo,” adding, “Understanding what is important to them is critical for payers if they wish their policies to be helpful to those patients.” Read more here.