How Patient Access Technology Can Simplify the Patient Care Journey

For many patients, getting access to the prescription drugs they need is harder than it should be.

The path from diagnosis to treatment is often delayed by unclear prescription costs, fragmented support resources and disconnected systems that make it difficult to move from a prescription decision to therapy start.

Patients frequently encounter access gaps at critical moments, including when they are trying to understand what a medication will cost, whether it is covered or how quickly they can begin treatment.

Inefficient prior authorization processes and opaque pricing information can cause delays, missed treatment and financial strain for patients. In a 2024 survey, 45% of Americans said they could not readily access and afford prescribed medicines. And when approvals take too long, patients may delay or abandon care altogether. In a 2025 survey, nearly half of pharmacists (48%) and 4 in 10 prescribers said that prior authorization often leads to treatment abandonment.

We wanted to hear directly from patients. What medication access barriers are they encountering and what would help keep patient care on track? To find out, we partnered with The Harris Poll to survey 1,007 U.S. patients 18+ who had interacted with the US healthcare system in the past year.

Prescription access was a nearly universal experience among patients surveyed. For many, daily medication is the norm. 83% of patients have filled a prescription within the last year, and 71% of recent doctor visits resulted in a prescription.

Patients who received a prescription in the past three months reported taking an average of three prescriptions per day, with 47% taking specialty medications.

Patients are actively looking for ways to make this experience easier and more affordable: 19% of patients were enrolled in a copay assistance or patient access program from a pharmaceutical company in the past year. 

Prescriptions may be common, but fulfillment isn't always easy: 56% of patients experience challenges when filling their prescriptions, naming delays as the most common hurdle.

Patients struggle to navigate prescription pricing: 48% say that they don’t know who or what to trust for accurate information about prescription medications and pricing.

To avoid sticker shock, many have looked for ways to reduce the cost of their prescriptions.

High prescription drug costs aren’t just frustrating, they can also be dangerous. One in four patients say they haven’t picked up a prescription because it was too expensive, and one in five say they’ve split pills or otherwise rationed their medications to make them last longer.

Among all the difficulties patients face in accessing prescriptions, prior authorization plays a significant role.

These delays are fairly common: 29% of patients who have filled a prescription in the past 12 months say they experienced delays due to prior authorization. That number rises to 36% when these patients take two or more prescription medications a day.

The impact of these delays extends beyond inconvenience—13% of patients report that their health actually worsened because of delays caused by prior authorization processes.

This is a critical concern for clinicians: 87% of pharmacists and 89% of prescribers said that prior authorization requirements negatively impact patient outcomes.

Patients want to have an easier experience accessing their medications—starting at the point of prescribing.

26% of patients say they discuss the cost of their prescription medications at half or more of their provider visits, but only 54% of them say those conversations completely meet their needs.

They don’t want to wait until they arrive at the pharmacy counter to learn what a prescription costs: 36% said getting clearer cost information before picking up a prescription would make navigating prescription costs easier.

It’s not just patients who want more price transparency, easier coordination and fewer insurance delays—clinicians expressed widespread support about using solutions to overcome medication access barriers for their patients.

These solutions aren’t just ideas to pursue in the future. Many already exist today and are making a direct impact in patients’ lives:

• Real-Time Prescription Benefit gives clinicians patient-specific benefit and cost information at the point of care, helping them address cost concerns and boost adherence.
• Prior Authorization Automation matches clinical data with determination criteria at the time of prescribing to reach a clinically appropriate decision as quickly as possible, so patients can start treatment faster.
• Electronic Benefit Verification helps patient access programs verify pharmacy benefit coverage and out-of-pocket costs.

Equipped with the right technology, clinicians can help ensure smoother, faster access to treatment for their patients.