Impact of cutting co-pay on meds
The use of specific medications following a heart attack has been shown to reduce cardiovascular events and mortality; however, while highly effective, the rate of adherence to these medications is poor. Researchers from Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) evaluated whether eliminating co-payments for these medications would increase adherence and improve outcomes in patients who have had a heart attack. The findings were presented as a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions today and simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. “The elimination of co-payments for certain medications following a heart attack resulted in improved patient adherence to the medications and positively impacted rates of major vascular events,” said Niteesh Choudhry, lead author of the paper and a researcher in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at BWH as well as an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “While the elimination of cost sharing...