by Amanda Conschafter, blog editor
Patient access encountered a range of challenges in 2014 – some old, some new. Here’s a look back at the top seven issues that drove physicians to advocate for their patients this year.
1. The FDA accepted its first biosimilar applications, fueling debate over naming and testing requirements.
Learn more:
- Why Doctors Need to Know When Pharmacists Substitute Biological Medicines
- In the Name of Patient Safety
2. Specialty tiers obstructed access to vital medications for patients on Affordable Care Act exchange plans.
Learn more:
- Specialty Tiers Hinder Access for ACA Exchange Patient
- Technology Fixes Don’t Solve Obamacare’s Access Problem
3. Cancer patients faced new threats to accessing life-saving medical therapies.
Learn more:
4. Efforts to address prescription pain pill abuse raised concerns about legitimate patient access.
Learn more:
- Abuse-Deterrent Opioid Formulations: Promising Technology, Unique Challenges
- Prescription Pain Medication: Preserving Patient Access While Curbing Abuse
5. Thousands of premature infants entered RSV season without preventative treatment.
Learn more:
- Protect Premature Infants from RSV
- Perinatal Providers Stand by FDA Indication in New RSV Prevention Guidelines
6. An unprecedented cure for hepatitis entered the market.
Learn more:
7. Mid-term elections welcomed waves of new physician-legislators to statehouses across the country.
Learn more:
- AfPA Health Policy Council Newsletter, Dec. 2014
Rejoin the Institute for Patient Access blog on January 5 to follow these – and emerging – patient access issues in 2015. Happy holidays!
