How Do Consumers Pay for Prescriptions?

by Client Services

The chart below shows how prescription drug purchasers pay for their medications. Prescription drugs can be expensive and individuals who use grocery stores to fill prescriptions are 76% more likely to take advantage of savings offers such as coupons, rebates, or loyalty cards. For those who have insurance plans with high deductibles and tend to pay out of pocket for Rx drugs, finding the best deal is especially important. This group is 82% more likely to purchase prescription medication online, perhaps due to the relative ease of comparison shopping in an online environment.

Profiling online Rx purchasers who typically pay out of pocket:

• 63% are age 40-64
• 61% work full or part-time
• 68% are single/never married or divorced/widowed
• Are less likely than the average adult to have a college degree
• Are 83% more likely to take Rx and non-Rx medicine at the same time
• 74% use Vitamins/Minerals/Herbals
• Among those who treat a health condition with any Rx medication, 67% used branded Rx, 89% used generic Rx, and 54% used non-prescription medication (OTC)

For more information about accessing full study results, contact us here.

The 2015 MARS Consumer Health Study helps the industry make better decisions about how to incorporate online into pharmaceutical and OTC marketing strategies. The MARS Consumer Health Study has updated its methodology to online data collection, while still maintaining an offline component to measure ailments, media consumption and demographics across the entire U.S. adult population.