Week in Review: Continued Progress for Patient Health

In recent years, the development of new medicines has helped transform the lives of patients. But lives cannot be improved without access to those innovative treatments. We support helping patients get access to what they need to live happier, healthier lives, and it was our focus this week.

To highlight the success of the Medicare Part D and how it helps beneficiaries get the medicines they need, we launched #MedicareMondays. Each week, we’ll post a new blog that addresses various aspects of the program and how it is critical that it remain intact for seniors to truly benefit. Check in with The Catalyst every Monday, or simply follow the #MedicareMonday hashtag on Twitter to get the latest.

We also emphasized the importance of access by shining a spotlight on a recent study by Avalere Health that showed evidence of some health insurance exchange plans reducing access to needed medicines by changing formularies or dropping their coverage midyear, leaving patients with limited options. Without access to these treatments, they run the risk of involuntary non-adherence before finding a suitable alternative or waiting for the exceptions process to help to ultimately get their medicines.

It is ensuring patients have access to innovative, new treatments that progress is made. We’ve made tremendous strides in the fight against cancer in recent years, for example, but if they can’t access those medicines, it is for not. On Wednesday we recognized our progress in fighting this devastating disease through World Cancer Day. Since its peak in 1991, the cancer death rate has fallen 20 percent, in large part thanks to new treatments. Though there is still work to be done, this year’s World Cancer Day theme “Not beyond us” is a great reminder that a solution is within our reach, and even though World Cancer Day has come to an end, the fight continues. Check in with phrma.org/cancer year-round to learn more about how our progress is helping in this fight.

The road ahead is not without its challenges, but the prospective of innovative, new medicines makes it well worth the journey, and we hope you’ll continue on this path with us. Check in with us each week to learn more about the role access continues to play in patient well-being and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for real-time updates.