PreCheck MyScript may help eliminate surprises at the pharmacy

Have you ever left a doctor’s appointment hopeful that a new medication your physician prescribed could help you manage a health concern, only to find out at the pharmacy that you can’t afford it? If so, you’re not alone.

Prices for prescription drugs continue to outpace inflation, and unfortunately, those rising costs are having a negative impact on people’s health. For example, in one study, 3 in 10 people said they had not taken their medication as prescribed due to the cost.

To help eliminate surprises, improve the health care experience and make it easier for members to afford their medications, UnitedHealthcare worked with OptumRx to develop PreCheck MyScript. The real-time price transparency tool is used by a provider to offer personalized prescription information to a patient during an appointment — whether it’s virtual or in-person.

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PreCheck MyScript is designed to help your doctor easily identify which medications are covered by your health plan and the associated cost for each option. The tool also makes suggestions for other clinically appropriate, lower-cost alternatives and streamlines the approval process for prescription drugs requiring prior authorization — allowing your doctor to request approval directly through the application.

This information gives you and your doctor a chance to discuss all options face-to-face before the appointment ends and you head to the pharmacy. The intended result? Fewer surprises at the pharmacy, lower out-of-pocket costs for members, better adherence to doctors’ recommended treatment plans, and ultimately, improved health outcomes.

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More than 277,000 providers have access to PreCheck MyScript. Since it was introduced, 6 million patients have benefited from the tool, with many saving an average of $225 per prescription when prescribers selected the suggested lower-cost option.

Additionally, with PreCheck MyScript, many patients picked up their medications faster and paid less at the pharmacy, which increased medication adherence for three common chronic conditions — diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

Learn more about PreCheck MyScript.