Electronic prescribing platform Interra Health announced Tuesday that it now supports the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) GLP-1 Bridge program for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.
Eligible Part D enrollees can access GLP-1 medications at $50 per month through the program, which launched July 1. For Interra patients, the platform alerts providers when patients may be eligible to enroll in the program. Moreover, it instructs providers to submit proper codes and complete required prior authorizations.
Interra Health Chief Business Development Officer J.B. Powell told Fierce Healthcare the program has delivered “more than 170,000 point-of-prescribing alerts to more than 30,000 unique prescribers” since its launch, adding that its requirements could “be confusing” for providers and patients to understand eligibility.
“By putting that information in front of their provider at the point of prescribing, we help to simplify that process and give eligible Medicare patients a clearer path to accessing these medications at a more affordable price,” Powell said. “We’re still early in the program, but we’re encouraged by the reach we’ve seen so far and the opportunity to help providers guide their patients through a benefit they may not otherwise have known was available to them.”
Interra was formed through a merger between DoseSpot and Arrive Health in March. The companies said the offering combines Arrive Health's coverage and pricing network with DoseSpot’s e-prescribing capabilities.
Powell said fragmentation in the traditional prescribing process can “create additional work for providers and make it harder to identify the most affordable path for a patient.”
“What differentiates Interra Health is our ability to bring those capabilities together within the prescribing workflow,” Powell said. “In the case of the GLP-1 Bridge program, we can identify a potential affordability opportunity in real time, alert the provider while they are prescribing, and give them the information they need to take the next step, including prior authorization.
Interra Health’s “ultimate goal,” according to Powell, is to “remove all guesswork from the prescribing process.”
“Providers and patients shouldn’t have to figure out on their own whether a medication is covered, what it will cost, whether there’s a more affordable option available or what steps are required to access it,” Powell said.