madman
Super Moderator
Introduction
Continually rising healthcare costs impede some patients from optimal treatment. One common barrier to effective treatment is the affordability of medications. Recently, Cost Plus Drugs (CPD) came to the pharmaceutical market to offer prescriptions at a 15% markup from manufacturer pricing and a flat $5 shipping cost. Our study aimed to see how this new company's most common surgery and genitourinary-specific drug prices compete with the current retail market and GoodRx, a nationally endorsed prescription discount program.
Methods
First, we aimed to understand the most prescribed medications in urology and general surgery throughout the state of Louisiana between August 2020 and August 2023. We then looked into every urology-based CPD medication at twenty different geographical locations with 6 different retailers with and without the use of a GoodRx coupon. SPSS software was used to conduct paired T-tests and a one-sample T-test to analyze the data.
Results
Thirty-nine percent (59/150) of the top medications prescribed were listed on CPD. Tamsulosin was the most prescribed urology-specific medication, over 37,000 times followed by, ciprofloxacin, finasteride, tadalafil, and sildenafil.The geographical location did not influence pricing at the retail and GoodRx level; however, retailers themselves varied. GoodRx was a cheaper option in 45 of the 59 medications compared to retail pricing. CPD pricing was cheaper than retail and GoodRx pricing in 97% (57/59) of medications, famotidine, and myrbetriq. CPD was significantly cheaper (p<0.05) than 20/20 retailers and 17/20 GoodRx of the genito-urinary-specific medications. All (n=12) antibiotics, anti nausea (n=4), and anti-inflammatory (n=3), studied were cheaper on CPD than on GoodRx. Sixteen percent (n =10/59) of medications were not cheaper than GoodRx when you factor in the $5 shipping cost; however, this cost could easily be mitigated if multiple medications needed to be shipped.
Conclusion
Cost Plus Drugs is a great option for patients when looking to decrease out-of-pocket costs on their prescriptions. Although a limited number of medications exist, the most prescribed urology medications are available,and these medications are cheaper than the most commonly promoted coupon group, GoodRX, which is found in clinics everywhere. Physicians should be aware of CPD and provide resources similar to GoodRX in their clinic.
Continually rising healthcare costs impede some patients from optimal treatment. One common barrier to effective treatment is the affordability of medications. Recently, Cost Plus Drugs (CPD) came to the pharmaceutical market to offer prescriptions at a 15% markup from manufacturer pricing and a flat $5 shipping cost. Our study aimed to see how this new company's most common surgery and genitourinary-specific drug prices compete with the current retail market and GoodRx, a nationally endorsed prescription discount program.
Methods
First, we aimed to understand the most prescribed medications in urology and general surgery throughout the state of Louisiana between August 2020 and August 2023. We then looked into every urology-based CPD medication at twenty different geographical locations with 6 different retailers with and without the use of a GoodRx coupon. SPSS software was used to conduct paired T-tests and a one-sample T-test to analyze the data.
Results
Thirty-nine percent (59/150) of the top medications prescribed were listed on CPD. Tamsulosin was the most prescribed urology-specific medication, over 37,000 times followed by, ciprofloxacin, finasteride, tadalafil, and sildenafil.The geographical location did not influence pricing at the retail and GoodRx level; however, retailers themselves varied. GoodRx was a cheaper option in 45 of the 59 medications compared to retail pricing. CPD pricing was cheaper than retail and GoodRx pricing in 97% (57/59) of medications, famotidine, and myrbetriq. CPD was significantly cheaper (p<0.05) than 20/20 retailers and 17/20 GoodRx of the genito-urinary-specific medications. All (n=12) antibiotics, anti nausea (n=4), and anti-inflammatory (n=3), studied were cheaper on CPD than on GoodRx. Sixteen percent (n =10/59) of medications were not cheaper than GoodRx when you factor in the $5 shipping cost; however, this cost could easily be mitigated if multiple medications needed to be shipped.
Conclusion
Cost Plus Drugs is a great option for patients when looking to decrease out-of-pocket costs on their prescriptions. Although a limited number of medications exist, the most prescribed urology medications are available,and these medications are cheaper than the most commonly promoted coupon group, GoodRX, which is found in clinics everywhere. Physicians should be aware of CPD and provide resources similar to GoodRX in their clinic.
