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Verispan Reports: 24.7% Growth in Prescriptions at Medicare Part D Plans

Posted on: Thursday, 6 April 2006, 09:01 CDT

Verispan's Vector One(R): Payer indicates 24.7% growth in prescriptions within Verispan-resolved Medicare Part D plans between January and February 2006, even though industrywide prescriptions decreased 6.1%. This Part D increase can be attributed to more Part D enrollees and the resolution of problems that plagued the program early in the year.

In January, 78% of all prescriptions were paid for by third-party payers, including Medicare Part D plans. Of these prescriptions, Verispan was able to attribute 6% to Part D plans. This figure grew to 8% of third-party prescriptions in February.

United Healthcare led the way, with 35.5% of all Part D prescriptions filled in February attributed to this payer. The top five drug classes filled at United Healthcare for Part D participants in February included: 1. HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors (32110) 2. Beta-Blockers (31410) 3. ACE Inhibitors, Alone (31111) 4. Calcium Blockers (31300) 5. Proton Pump Inhibitors (23420)

Verispan's InSite Next Generation now includes profiles of all Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage Plans (MAs). According to this service, the Part D payers with the largest number of members include: 1. United Healthcare National PDP 2. WellCare National PDP 3. Humana PDP 4. Pacificare Life and Health National PDP 5. Unicare National PDP

Using Vector One(R): Payer, Verispan can measure the effect of Medicare Part D on individual drug classes and products not only at the national and state level, but also at the payer level, namely PDPs and MAs. Clients can also view patient out-of-pocket costs, allowing measurement of total prescriptions by the dual-eligible (Medicare and Medicaid) and low-income subsidy populations of Part D plans. Drug switching at individual Part D plans can be monitored month-to-month.

Vector One(R): Payer is available as either a monthly or quarterly deliverable. The delivery vehicle can be flat files, Excel spreadsheets or through Verispan's unique Report Generator query tool. Data is available by the 25th of the month, faster than any competing product.

InSite Next Generation is a Web-based software tool that houses profiles not only for the PDP and MA Part D payers, but also for health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, pharmacy benefit managers and employer coalitions.

For more information about Vector One(R): Payer, InSite Next Generation or other Part D tracking strategies offered by Verispan, contact Betty Sanna at 800-982-5613; e-mail: elizabeth.sanna@verispan.com.

About Verispan

Verispan, a healthcare informatics joint venture of Quintiles Transnational Corp. and McKesson Corp., provides a broad array of information products and services to the healthcare industry, including sales targeting and compensation products; market research audits; healthcare profiles; comprehensive managed care offerings; primary market research; opinion leader mapping; data integration, warehousing and mining; data analysis and consulting; direct mail; list services; disease management studies; clinical trial investigator targeting and protocol recruitment evaluation; healthcare outcomes; and cost/benefit analyses, among many others. Verispan is also the nation's leading provider of patient-centric longitudinal data, with dozens of products used by clients spanning the industry.

Headquartered in Yardley, Pa., Verispan employs over 500 dedicated healthcare information professionals. The company's Web site is www.verispan.com.

Source: Business Wire

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