CVS CEO: Consumers can save $90 per drug thanks to transparency
Greater transparency in health care has caused the average consumer to save about $90 per prescription, according to the CEO of CVS Larry Merlo.
Merlo said when an individual provides their benefit plan to a physician, the doctor is “switching the drug that they were about to prescribe to a lower-cost alternative about 40 percent of the time.”
“We've been doing a lot of work in terms of how do you make transparency actionable.”
UBER STRIKES DEAL TO FACILITATE HEALTH CARE TRANSPORTATION
“We talk a lot about prescription drug prices,” Merlo said during an interview with FOX Business’ Jack Otter on “Barron’s Roundtable.” “One of the things that we've been able to do is take your individual benefit design and put it into the physician's office as part of your electronic health record.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Realizing individual patients' needs caused many health care providers to put a new emphasis on health care technology. Merlo mentioned CVS's Health Hub as an example.
VR FITNESS: 5 EMERGING BRANDS THAT ARE DRIVING THE HEALTH-CARE TECH TREND
He said the Health Hub works towards being a community-destination focused on health-related services, instead of just convenient access to health, beauty or personal care items.
“There's more consumerism in health care today than ever before,” he told Otter.
Merlo said the necessity to meet people where they are in order to help them with their health needs is crucial.
THIS APP IS AIMING TO UPEND THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
He said a pharmacist or nurse practitioner in a CVS’s “minute clinic” can do much more than just dispensing a prescription.
They can provide “other health-related services that can help people on a better path to their health,” Merlo said.