By Thomas Vincz, Public Relations Manager

On any bottle of prescription drugs the label instructions would seem to be clear enough: “Take this medication as directed.”

So why, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are medications not taken as directed more than half the time?

The reasons vary. Patients can be forgetful, or they may prefer to skip a dose because of the potential side effects. Cost can be a factor, too. Out-of-pocket expenses can be high for certain drugs, and you usually won’t know the cost of your medication until you pick it up from the pharmacy. Finally, there’s the sheer volume of prescriptions that many people need to keep track of. In fact, about one of every four Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) members take two or more maintenance medications – those used on a regular basis.

But now members who get their pharmacy benefits through Horizon BCBSNJ have an easier way to organize their meds thanks to a pioneer in simplifying shopping. Enter PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy – a new free home delivery option for Horizon BCBSNJ members in eligible plans. This option is offered in alliance with Prime Therapeutics, Horizon BCBSNJ’s pharmacy benefits manager, which helps members get the most out of their pharmacy benefits.

“For thousands of our members, achieving their best health requires taking multiple medications – prescription and over-the-counter – sometimes several times throughout the day. With multiple studies indicating that only 50 percent of drugs for chronic conditions are taken as prescribed, this service gives members another option that makes it easier to take their medications as directed and understand their out-of-pocket costs upfront,” said Saira Jan, Vice President of Pharmacy at Horizon BCBSNJ.

PillPack provides members with an estimate of their out-of-pocket costs upfront and two home delivery options for receiving their medications:

1. Organized in pre-sorted packets so members won’t miss a dose. PillPack will sort a 30-day supply of medicines into user-friendly packaging based on the time of day they’re taken. Multiple prescriptions are coordinated to be filled on the same day and packaged in their prescribed doses.
2. A 90-day supply in a bottle, which may lower a member’s out-of-pocket costs.

“Most people use their pharmacy benefits frequently throughout the year and managing their medicines or their families’ can become time-consuming. To help, Prime Therapeutics, Horizon BCBSNJ, and PillPack envisioned a better pharmacy experience,” said Kyle Skiermont, Prime Therapeutics’ senior vice president for specialty pharmacy and home delivery services.

To sign up, members just need to sign into their secure member web portal on HorizonBlue.com and click on Prescriptions under Doctors & Care to complete their registration. Another enrollment option is to visit PillPack.com/HorizonBlue and follow the on-screen instructions.

At sign-up, members’ insurance details, demographic information and medicine lists are automatically imported, which saves time and adds convenience to the ordering process.

“By simplifying the signup process to make it easy for members, this new, integrated process now connects the necessary information in one place and makes this offering a simple and convenient experience for Horizon members. It even puts cost information for various dosing options at members’ fingertips when they need it,” said Skiermont.

All of which sounds like a prescription most people would choose to follow.