Understanding Prescription Drug Trends to Encourage Pharmacy Innovation

At the fall 2024 Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit, held virtually on October 19, Scott Biggs, director of supplier services at IQVIA, discussed various pharmacy trends including the Use of Medicine in the US report, retail pharmacy performance, booming medications like glucagon-like peptide-1s (GLP-1s), and much more. Keeping their finger on the pulse of pharmacy, the team at IQVIA and InterLink AI put together this presentation to also help independent pharmacists stay ahead of the curve.

“We know that there are a lot of challenges out there in this industry,” said Biggs. “In the end, all these challenges that we’re facing impact the patients.” From drug shortages and issues surrounding biosimilars to Drug Supply Chain Security Act stabilization and direct and indirect remuneration fees, everyday patients may not understand the common challenges pharmacies face. Furthermore, they may not understand how pharmacy challenges—when they’re not addressed—fall onto the patients and ultimately impact their overall health outcomes.

Every spring, IQVIA presents the US Health Services Utilization Index. | image credit: Cathynew / stock.adobe.com

Every spring, IQVIA presents the US Health Services Utilization Index. Biggs touched on this resource and how it helps pharmacists understand the prescriptions they fill in the pharmacy to a fuller capacity.

READ MORE: The Importance of Pharmacy-Sponsored Programs for Driving Medication Adherence

Read on for some key takeaways from Biggs’ presentation:

• “There are 4 areas that they say are lagging behind,” Biggs said: office, institutional and telehealth visits; screening and diagnostic tests; elective procedures; and adult, pediatric, and flu vaccinations. These are important because “all of these, in one fashion or another, can turn into prescriptions that you can fill in your pharmacies.” By identifying these 4 areas that can be improved within health care, Biggs presented ways for pharmacists to fill in gaps.
• He then delved into some specific trends within the pharmaceutical industry. For example, opioid use is down 67% since 2011, aided in part by pharmacist-driven medication management services, while contraceptive use was down 3% in 2023.
• Addressing an issue at the top of a lot of pharmacists’ minds, Biggs also discussed recent pharmacy closures. “Over 5000 stores have closed over the last 6 years. Over 900 have already closed this year,” he said. When pharmacy closures occur in specific areas, nearby pharmacies must always prepare to ramp up their services to provide care for patients who may be impacted by closures.
• Biggs also touched on medication adherence. Using IQVIA data, he broke down the typical trends in Medicare Part D adherence by region. “When we focus on [Part] D, you’ll notice that in the upper Midwest, there are some higher rates…of adherence, also in the upper Northeast. When you get down to the Deep South, and I’m looking at the number in Louisiana at 70.5%, there are challenges to adherence in those states.”
• “IQVIA has a tool called FAN, a flu alert notification, and what we track is the affected population. We look at several symptoms. We look at things like influenza, cough, ear aches, sore throats, fevers, things like that,” continued Biggs. With utilization of FAN, pharmacies are now able to receive never-before-seen insights into vaccination statistics. This is yet another resource at pharmacists’ disposal to stay ahead of flu season.
• Biggs explored GLP-1 medications in further detail and shared some insights on their rise and how it has impacted grocery store spending. Studies showed that 51% of households reduced their spend at the grocery store since being prescribed GLP-1s, and overall grocery store spending is down 11% for individuals on these medications.
• He then shared some key insights from the US Health Services Utilization Index on HIV trends and smoking cessation medications. He described how the HIV category of drugs is growing gradually but slowly, and that they have increased in chain drug stores but have since shown a slight regression, which is owed to store closures, according to Biggs. Finally, he mentioned how smoking cessation drugs are on a steady decrease year over year.

Explore more of our coverage from the Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit Fall 2024: Innovating With Cutting-Edge Technology. To read these stories and more, download the PDF of the Total Pharmacy December issue here.

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