Health Consumers Look to Pharma Companies for Prescription Cost A...( New v-Fluenc...),Health

New v-Fluence Interactive study shows patients turning to the programs pharmaceutical companies offer to help pay for their prescriptions

St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) November 23, 2008 -- As more patients seek ways to address the rising cost of medications, some are turning to the programs pharmaceutical companies offer to help pay for their prescriptions, a new study from v-Fluence Interactive shows.

"We've seen a marked increase in searches for 'patient' and 'prescription' assistance programs in our research," says Jay Byrne, v-Fluence president. "In some cases, this increased search interest connects directly to the patient assistance programs certain pharma companies have launched in recent years to address affordability issues. However, some company efforts are not easily found when consumers conduct these searches."

Consumer interest in pharma patient assistance programs is likely to grow as recent media reports and polling suggest economic pressures are making it more difficult for consumers to pay for their medications. "The big challenge for pharmaceutical companies will be ensuring that their online patient assistance-oriented content is well positioned to capture this interest," Byrne says. "The Web is increasingly the place where consumers and patients look first and most often for this type of information."

The v-Fluence study examined how often consumers use 260 different search terms relating to prescription medications and their costs between October 2007 and last month. Findings include: