Providing Cancer Drugs In Multiple Vial Sizes Could Save Patients and Payers Money

On March 1, 2016, Health Affairs published an article in the BMJ showing how in the US nearly $3 billion will be spent on discarded cancer drugs this year because companies package drugs in vials that contain too much of the drug for most doses, creating expensive leftover product. We proposed that companies in the US should either package drugs in more appropriate vial sizes to reduce the leftover amounts, or provide refunds for leftover drug.

Since the time of our article’s publication, numerous Senators have written letters to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging action on vial sizes, and calling for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) to investigate which companies sell their drugs in smaller vials outside the US than they offer to US patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also mandated that beginning July 1 2016, all health professionals billing for infused cancer drugs (and other Part B drugs) to distinguish between claims that are for drugs that a patient actually receives and those claims that are for leftover drug.

  

Need to know more? Check out Health Affairs blog post titled, "Yes, Providing Cancer Drugs In Multiple Vial Sizes Could Save Patients and Payers Money".  

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