Pharmacists Can Now Sing a New Tune When Patients Ask About Cost

Pharmacy staff and personnel spend a lot of their time sorting through cost and benefit issues. Real-Time Prescription Benefit reduces time spent answering those questions and provides accurate information directly from the benefit plan.

According to Khakhkhar, who uses Real-Time Prescription Benefit in his BestRx pharmacy software, the tool is exceptionally useful for community pharmacists. “Often times we are the messenger between the insurance company, the prescriber’s office and the patient. So, before a prescriber sends us an electronic prescription, they may call to ask if we think it’s covered through a specific plan. This tool gives us insight into whether or not the prescription sent to us will be covered by that particular patient’s PBM [pharmacy benefit manager]. And if it isn’t covered, it offers alternative formulary options appropriate to the patient.”

With pricing, coverage and prior authorization information shared directly from the patient’s benefit plan, pharmacies now have insight into different days' supply and options on formulary that may be less expensive. In fact, Khakhkhar says Real-Time Prescription Benefit has been especially beneficial during the pandemic. “A patient’s copay may be the same or similar for a 90-day supply and a 30-day supply. With this tool, we were able to save a patient about $800 per year simply by switching them to a 90-day fill.” Plus, the longer supply means high-risk patients can avoid multiple trips to the pharmacy.

Prescription price transparency tools like Real-Time Prescription Benefit help pharmacy staff like Khakhkhar’s do their jobs much more effectively and successfully, and eliminate some of the challenges pharmacies face every day. “Best of all,” he says, “price transparency technology can help us achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.”