Prescription drug costs have skyrocketed in the U.S. in recent years. But research from Columbia Business School in Morningside Heights found that access to newer medications increases patients' likelihood of taking them, improving health outcomes and decreasing care costs.
The research, which was announced this week, from Frank Lichtenberg, professor of healthcare management, found that patients are 2.5% more likely to start and stay on a course of treatment for every 10-year decrease in a drug's time on the market. That's equivalent to a $0.35 reduction in copayment for each day of a patient's therapy.
Columbia noted that medication nonadherence—when patients do not fill or take prescriptions advised by doctors—costs the U.S. health care system $100 billion per year in hospital and other medical expenses.