The Impact of Copay on Adherence to Breast Cancer Medications

Women taking generic versus brand-name aromatase inhibitors were less likely to discontinue therapy.

One of the greatest challenges physicians face is encouraging patients to adhere to taking daily medications for many years. Identifying and overcoming obstacles to compliance are critical, particularly when optimal use of such medications has been shown to improve outcomes. Such is the case with adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer, as durations of as long as 10 years are now considered for many patients. Much has been written about the adverse musculoskeletal effects of such treatments, but other factors may play a role in nonadherence.

To determine whether the amount of the copay for prescriptions affects nonadherence in this setting, investigators evaluated pharmacy and claims data from a proprietary research database on 5511 wom…

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)