TAMPA, Fla., April 28, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- PMSI, the nation's largest provider of pharmacy and specialty products and services centric to workers' compensation, today announced the release of their 2008 Annual Drug Trends Report, revealing the most recent pharmacy expenditure benchmarks available in the market today. The report identifies key areas where PBMs and payors should focus the majority of their mitigation efforts for optimal cost containment. It provides detailed analysis of PMSI's extensive workers' compensation database including pharmacy transactions between 2003 and 2007. It is the industry's most comprehensive and up-to-date review of injured workers' pharmacy claims, representing in excess of 12 million transactions for nearly 1.5 million injured workers, totaling close to $1.3 billion.
"With over 30 years experience as a pharmacy benefit manager for workers' compensation, we are in a unique position to gather, review and interpret extensive data and identify trends in the industry," commented Nick Page, Chief Clinical Officer, PMSI. "The goal of the 2008 Annual Drug Trends Report is to provide quality benchmark information to empower insurers, employers, third-party administrators and government entities to make more informed decisions regarding their workers' compensation pharmacy program. The ultimate benefit is improved quality of care for injured workers while containing costs and controlling utilization for payors."
Recent reports from NCCI have demonstrated that pharmacy expenditures continue to increase both in total, and as a percentage of combined medical costs. Current estimates indicate pharmacy spend represents 12% of total medical costs in workers' compensation. "As a result, there is more focus than ever before on controlling these rising costs," commented Nick Page.
The report reveals two of the primary drivers that impact total pharmacy spend - prescription price and prescription utilization. Other key cost drivers analyzed include drug usage trends, brand vs. generic utilization, price and utilization per drug class, PBM influences, and state trends including state fee schedules, generic utilization mandates and electronic billing and state reporting requirements.
Some of the key drug trends identified in the report include:
* Annual pharmacy spend increased 11.91% per injured worker in
2007, compared to 8.67% in 2006. The impact of price
represented 39% of the increase, while utilization
contributed 61%.
* Six medications accounted for 65% of total utilization
increases.
* New brand medications in 2006 and 2007 contributed 2.54% to
total pharmacy spend.
* Generic launches in 2007 resulted in a savings of 1.98%.
* Claim age increased 6% between 2006 and 2007 - from 5.26
years in 2006 to 5.59 years in 2007.
For the complete 2008 Annual Drug Trends Report, visit www.pmsionline.com. To schedule an interview with Nick Page to review and discuss these findings, contact Maureen Landers at 212.292.8560 x04 or maureen.landers@landersmadden.com.
About PMSI
PMSI-The Only Solution You Need. Founded in 1976, today PMSI is the nation's largest provider of specialty managed care services and products for workers' compensation and catastrophically injured populations. PMSI provides an integrated portfolio of services in Pharmacy, Medicare Set-Asides, Medical Services and Equipment, and Clinical Services that promote quality care for injured workers while helping clients contain costs and control utilization. PMSI is a subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen Corporation-ranked # 28 in the Fortune 500 list and among the Top 5 in the Pharmaceuticals Service Providers category.