GoodRx Offers MS Patients Digital Vumerity Enrollment Form
Working with Biogen, GoodRx hopes to combat treatment delays
GoodRx, in collaboration with Biogen, has made the enrollment form for starting a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient on Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) available on its new “Provider Mode” digital platform.
By adding the electronic enrollment form, the company hopes doctors will be able to prescribe their patients Vumerity more efficiently and avoid treatment delays.
The announcement comes as part of GoodRx‘s rollout of its Provider Mode, which aims to provide clinicians easy access to information about the medications they are prescribing, including costs, safety, alternatives, and dosing, among other information.
Biogen is now the first pharmaceutical company to allow doctors to directly submit enrollment information for one of its medications through the platform.
“One of the most important things we can do to improve the quality of healthcare today is to help providers find faster and easier ways to connect patients with the right drugs and treatments,” Bansi Nagji, president of healthcare at GoodRx, said in a press release.
“We are proud to work with medical professionals to help patients with relapsing MS get the therapy they need more efficiently. This exciting integration with Biogen is just the start of the great work to come as we expand our offerings for providers,” Nagji added.
Specialty medications are prescription therapies that require special handling, administration, or monitoring, or are expensive. These therapies can be dispensed only at certified specialty pharmacies.
Several disease-modifying therapies for MS, including Vumerity, meet the criteria for a specialty medication. Insurance companies in the U.S. often require prior approval before they will provide coverage for these therapies.
Because of these factors, getting the medication into the hands of patients can be time-consuming and complicated.
Vumerity’s enrollment form is filled out by healthcare providers and submitted to a specialty hub, which acts as a liaison for communicating with insurance companies and pharmacies, among other parties, to ensure the medication gets to the patient.
As patients wait for the paperwork to be filed and insurance approval granted, there may be significant delays in their access to treatment. But the digital enrollment offered through Provider Mode will be transmitted directly to the specialty hub, with the goal of speeding up the process and reducing the risk of documentation errors that can happen when paperwork is filed manually.
Also available on the Vumerity provider page is additional information about the medication, its uses, side effects and alternative treatments.
The enrollment form also can be accessed digitally or manually on the Vumerity website.
QuickStart program
When completing the paperwork through either channel, healthcare providers can select to enroll their patient into a QuickStart program.
By opting-in, doctors authorize the provision of up to four months of Vumerity, at no cost to the patient, while they await confirmation of insurance coverage or other funding for the treatment.
Vumerity is approved in the U.S. for adults with relapsing forms of MS, including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS, and active secondary-progressive MS.
“We are proud to collaborate with GoodRx, a company that aligns with our commitment to help healthcare providers spend more of their time where it matters most – with their patients,” said Alisha A. Alaimo, president of Biogen’s U.S. Organization.
According to GoodRx, Provider Mode has seen an almost 90% opt-in rate from healthcare providers since it started rolling out in December.
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