Express Scripts Launches Virtual Coaching To Help Patients Better Understand Therapy

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Aug 16, 2012, 08:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new online tool, Virtual Coaching, helps patients — especially those with complex health conditions — better understand their disease and how their medication works.

Express Scripts is making Virtual Coaching available through HealthBridge Pharma & Biotech, now part of United BioSource Corporation, which offers a full range of integrated services to assist pharmaceutical and biotech companies in providing specialty prescription products and services to patients, physicians and pharmacists. Virtual Coaching provides visual and audible information to help patients better understand their health condition and how a prescribed drug works within their body.

"Innovative, detailed patient education is especially important for patients who are prescribed specialty medications, which often include a therapy that is more complex and demanding than non-specialty therapies," says Everett Neville, Express Scripts vice president, chief trade relations officer. "Patients with diseases such as hepatitis C, autoimmune disorders, hemophilia and multiple sclerosis can benefit from knowing as much as possible about their illness, their medication and any potential side effects. Yet, accessing and remembering trusted information can be a challenge."

According to the National Council on Patient Information and Education, more than 60% of patients cannot correctly report what their physician told them about medication use 10 minutes after receiving the information. However, patients can access Virtual Coaching videos online or via DVD any time day or night to obtain vital information from the convenience of their homes.

Virtual Coaching may include downloadable forms, tracking charts and links to support communities, and is available to pharmaceutical manufacturers who can tailor a video to suit the needs of their patients. An example of a Virtual Coaching video for patients with hepatitis C can be viewed at: http://www.thehealthbridgesolution.com/virtual-coach.

"Virtual Coaching is an outstanding tool for patients, as well as prescribers, who now have assurance that their patients can continue to access important information in an easy to understand format after they leave a doctor's office," Neville says.

About United BioSource Corporation

United BioSource Corporation (UBC), which now includes HealthBridge Pharma & Biotech suite of services, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Express Scripts Holding Company. UBC is a global scientific and medical affairs organization that partners with life science companies to make medicine and medical products smarter for all stakeholders in the healthcare landscape. UBC helps deliver authoritative, real-world evidence to characterize product effectiveness, address safety risk, and demonstrate value. UBC brings together recognized scientific and industry experts, research operations professionals, and new technologies to provide innovative solutions across the product lifecycle. Services include CuraScript Specialty Pharmacy, CuraScript Specialty Distribution, Accredo Specialty Pharmacy, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), reimbursement, patient assistance programs, data and sales reporting, customized adherence programs, evidence management, and clinical and post-approval support. More information can be found at www.unitedbiosource.com.

About Express Scripts

Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) manages more than a billion prescriptions each year for tens of millions of people. On behalf of our clients — employers, health plans, unions and government health programs — we make the use of prescription drugs safer and more affordable. We innovate to enhance patient care, reduce pharmacy-related waste and increase therapy adherence. Building on a strong clinical foundation, we apply our understanding of the behavioral sciences — an approach we call Consumerology® — to make it easier for people to choose better health.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Express Scripts provides integrated pharmacy benefit management services, including network-pharmacy claims processing, home delivery, specialty benefit management, benefit-design consultation, drug-utilization review, formulary management, and medical and drug data analysis services. The company also distributes a full range of biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management and patient-care services.

For more information, visit www.Express-Scripts.com or follow @ExpressScripts on Twitter.

Media Contact: Thom Gross
314.684.6321
[email protected]

SOURCE Express Scripts