Going Beyond Copay Cards with EHR-Integrated Copay Support

Closing the gap between copay programs and true affordability

Copay programs alone have not solved the affordability problem – not because they aren’t available, but because they are underutilized. In fact, IQVIA reports that 95% of branded products have at least one copay program. The disconnect is usage: a 2023 McKinsey study found that just 3% of patients given a copay card will use it. Meanwhile, the American Medical Association estimates that in 2024, between 20-30% of prescriptions went unfilled, categorizing cost as a key barrier.

The solution doesn’t lie in printing more cards; it lies in maximizing the moment. Because the gap between program availability and patient action is where access breaks down – and where timing becomes everything.

Offering copay support is only one step toward closing the affordability gap. The disconnects between copay program availability and actual usage reveal missed opportunities. Addressing affordability when it matters most is the next crucial step in closing the gaps.

Cost conversations must happen at the moment of care – when providers and patients are making treatment decisions together. That’s the point where outcomes are shaped and product choices are made. When a patient sees a copay offer before that moment, it may not register as relevant. When they learn about it after the prescription is written, it may already be too late.

InStep Health is addressing this affordability gap by bringing copay programs into the prescriber/patient conversation – the exact moment of need – through its Integrated EHR Copay Support™ solution.

Embedding copay programs in the healthcare workflow

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is where treatment discussions evolve into decisions and actions. By presenting copay information directly within the EHR, we integrate affordability into the conversation at the crucial moment of decision-making.

The workflow is simple, direct, and effective. A provider selects a therapy, sees an in-workflow alert with a copay offer, and shares it with the patient in the moment. That’s turning support into activation—embedding copay info directly in the EHR lets providers address affordability seamlessly, without disrupting the conversation.

Strategically integrated EHR messaging is powerful and effective. Accenture’s 2023 Digital Health Tech Vision found that EHR-integrated messaging is three times as likely to gain provider engagement than other media. By activating the copay program in the consultation itself, brands can provide the answer at the exact moment a provider and patient pose the question. And proactively informing prescribers about copay support options at the time of need is a practical way to help ensure a positive outcome for both the patient and the healthcare provider.

Driving health equity and access

Widespread, timely delivery of copay program offers is a health equity imperative because underrepresented and lower-income patients can gain the greatest benefits from savings offered directly in the EHR workflow. Less-affluent patients are already known to be strongly price-sensitive. A 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that cost factors were four times more likely to cause low-income patients to abandon a prescription.

Brands often struggle to deliver copay programs to those who need them most. A Health Affairs study shows Black and Hispanic patients are least likely to use these offers, largely due to a lack of awareness at the Point of Care.

It’s not just a missed click. It’s a missed chance for someone to get the care they deserve. Introducing copay savings during prescribing, when cost is top of mind, can drive greater brand impact and equity.

Why InStep Health’s approach is different

Our Integrated EHR Copay Support™ capability focuses on brand assistance options at the precise moment of need between targeted providers and their patients. Our solution is platform-agnostic with enterprise integrations to 1,500+ major healthcare organizations, many of whom are Epic, Cerner, and Meditech sites.

What’s more, this solution has no waste. Only providers that are in the midst of writing that brand’s prescription are reached.

Here’s how it works in the real world:

• As they prescribe a medication in the ePrescribe module, providers see a copay offer displayed in their familiar EHR environment.
• Copay details are then automatically routed to the pharmacy, fully documented with BIN, PCN, Group, and any other associated IDs.
• The provider may additionally deliver the same copay details to the patient’s portal account.
• The pharmacy will prompt the patient for any additional information or consent needed to apply copay savings.
• Patients pick up the prescription.

And here’s InStep Health’s commitment to brands:

• InStep Health guarantees 90% reach to matched NPIs for qualified campaigns.
• All engagement occurs within the EHR, ensuring clean, consistent interaction data
• Brands receive detailed, physician-level metrics.
• Brands have 100% share-of-voice, with no competitive therapies within the workflow.

These innovations integrate the EHR workflow with cost-related decisions. The result is significant assistance at critical moments for patients and providers, along with transparent performance data for brands.

Superior brand activation, improved patient outcomes

The copay card is out of step with how care happens today. They remain fragmented, niche, and overly impacted by the gap between awareness and action. It’s time to evolve both the format and the mindset. Why settle for 3% performance from copay cards when EHR-integrated delivery offers real-time, trackable impact at the Point of Care? Embedding affordability messaging in the prescribing workflow transforms support into high-performing media, making the provider’s final click the brand’s most valuable one.

EHR copay messaging represents an important step along the path from static, awareness-oriented branding to timely, integrated, patient-first activation. Copay programs themselves are no longer a differentiator, but the brands that are willing and able to engage those care decisions in the moment will stand out by combining provider next-best-action decisions with patient needs and overall equity.

The digital Point of Care toolkit unlocks powerful new ways for brands and providers to collaborate—seamlessly and at scale—to better serve patients. Solutions like InStep Health’s EHR Copay Support™ bring clinical workflows, affordability programs, and brand strategy into full alignment.

Better still, these EHR-native tools create a new class of performance media, with every engagement clearly tracked, measured, and ready to prove ROI. Because the final click in the EHR isn’t just the end of a workflow. It’s the beginning of better outcomes.