Empowering Care Teams to Improve the Patient Experience

In today’s healthcare landscape, the patient experience is more than a metric—it’s a reflection of how well our systems support people in moments that matter. Yet, for many clinicians, delivering a seamless experience remains a challenge. Our latest data brief reveals how pharmacists and prescribers are navigating these complexities and what tools they believe can make a meaningful difference.

The Patient Experience: Valued but Vulnerable

More than 9 in 10 clinicians surveyed said the patient experience is very or extremely important in their work. But despite this shared commitment, 39% of pharmacists and 44% of prescribers reported having little ability to impact it. This disconnect reflects the systemic barriers that disrupt care and delay treatment.

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Data Brief

Care Teams Seek Tools to Improve the Patient Experience

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Cost and Coverage Barriers Derail the Prescription Experience

At the point of prescribing, clinicians face a trio of persistent obstacles: insurance coverage gaps, affordability challenges and administrative complexity. Nearly all prescribers (93%) say out-of-pocket costs are a moderate or major factor in their prescribing decisions. Yet most find it difficult to determine what patients will pay or what assistance programs are available.

Without cost and coverage intelligence, rework, delays and frustration are the norm:

• 87% of prescribers say patients very or somewhat often ask to delay or change prescriptions due to out-of-pocket costs.
• 85% say the same about insurance coverage issues.

These aren’t the only problems that can delay treatment. Other major stumbling blocks include managing communications between prescribers, pharmacists and benefit plans. Three in ten respondents said they lack the staff needed to manage these complex processes and help patients start therapy sooner.

Technology as a Catalyst for Change

Clinicians are eager for tools that help them deliver better experiences. Survey respondents identified several technologies that would be very or somewhat helpful in patient interactions:

• Electronically changing or canceling prescriptions
• Checking benefit plan eligibility
• Identifying more affordable drug alternatives
• Letting patients check prescription prices and availability

Clinicians overwhelmingly support tools that streamline workflows and improve transparency. Fortunately, many of these tools are already gaining traction:

• RxChange and CancelRx streamline prescription updates within the workflow.
• Eligibility helps clinicians quickly determine a patient’s benefit plan coverage.
• Real-Time Prescription Benefit delivers cost and coverage information directly from the benefit plan.
• Electronic Benefit Verification supports patient assistance programs for costly and complex specialty medications.

Looking Ahead

When patients are empowered with the right information at the right time, they’re more likely to start—and stay on—therapy. That’s how we move from frustration to empowerment. That’s how we heal healthcare from the inside out.

There’s so much more we can do to empower care teams and patients with relevant prescription insights. This survey suggests that U.S. clinicians are ready to adopt innovative solutions that improve the patient experience—and deliver better care. Together, we can make the patient journey smoother, faster and more compassionate.