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Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who continue taking disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) throughout pregnancy accrue lower non-maternity healthcare costs related to hospitalization, new research shows.
Overall, the adjusted medical costs for patients who were consistently taking all of their medications were lowered by as much as $4,383, an analysis found.
According to the National MS Society, no DMTs are currently approved for use during pregnancy however, stopping treatment can increase the risk of relapses and associated health problems for people with MS.
Senior Editor
Women with MS who continue their disease-modifying therapy, or DMT, throughout pregnancy have lower hospitalization costs and use, compared to those who discontinued their therapy.
That finding comes from a retrospective study conducted by Walgreens in collaboration with AllianceRx Walgreens Prime to understand how non-adherence to these women’s DMTs would impact healthcare cost and utilization over a two-year period. The researchers presented the findings on Feb. 26 at the virtual Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Forum 2021.
MS is a chronic condition affecting the central nervous system that affects roughly 2.3 million people worldwide, with women affected two to three times as often as men. According to the National MS Society, none of the DMTs are approved for use during pregnancy yet discontinuing DMTs may cause relapse of disease. However, for certain DMTs, studies do indicate that some patients continue thei
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ORLANDO, Fla., March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ AllianceRx Walgreens Prime recently announced results from research analyzing data of females with multiple sclerosis (MS) who became pregnant, and the impact of adherence to their disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on hospital utilization and cost. Researchers wanted to understand how non-adherence to their DMTs would impact healthcare cost and utilization over a two-year period. The findings suggest for those women continuing their therapy throughout pregnancy, hospitalization costs and use were lower, compared to those who discontinued their therapy. The retrospective study was conducted by Walgreens, in collaboration with AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, a leading specialty and home delivery pharmacy.