CVC study finds narrow pharmacy networks promote better drug adherence

The CVS Health Research Institute recently conducted a study that showed that members of drug benefit plans with narrow pharmacy networks demonstrated improved medication adherence.

Narrow networks encourage plan members to take their prescriptions to specific, in-network pharmacies, which are also called preferred pharmacies, by giving the patients reduced out-of-pocket costs for their prescriptions.

The study found that patients with health care plans that had narrow pharmacy networks had improved medication adherence, as indicated by their medication possession ratio, which measures patients’ available medication on hand over time.

“There are few opportunities in health care when we can improve both quality of care and health outcomes while helping to manage health care costs,” William Shrank, the study author and senior vice president and chief scientific officer at CVS Health, said. “This first-of-its-kind study suggests that narrow networks may be one such opportunity by providing clear evidence that these networks — already an established cost management strategy — also help optimize members’ adherence.”

Narrow pharmacy networks have faced criticism for limiting patients' pharmacy access, but Shrank said actually these limitations actually help patients.

“Despite common concerns that narrow pharmacy networks reduce access, we believe they can actually help encourage plan members to establish a pharmacy home where patients with chronic diseases can receive coordinated care and effective medication adherence support,” Shrank said.

Full study results are available in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal.