Health IT Research & Analysis
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Hospital Adoption of Real-Time Benefit Tools

Last Updated

June 2023

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have required Medicare Part D plans to support a prescriber real time benefit tool (RTBT) since January 2021. The use of RTBTs is intended to inform prescribers when lower-cost alternative therapies are available under a patient’s prescription drug insurance benefit, which can improve medication adherence, lower prescription drug costs, and minimize beneficiary out-of-pocket costs.

As of 2023, over 70% of hospitals report getting real time prescription benefit information from at least some health plans.

Percent of hospitals with EHRs that integrate health insurer real-time prescription benefit information.

Percent of non-Federal, acute care hospitals with EHRs that integrate health insurer real-time prescription benefit information.

 20222023
Yes, for all or almost all payers50.2%56.2%
Yes, for a limited set of payers15.9%15.8%
No16.9%17.7%
Do not know16.9%10.3%

2022 and 2023 AHA IT Supplement data include responses from 2,397 and 2,547 non-Federal acute care hospitals, respectively. Responses were weighted to reflect the distribution of hospital characteristics in the AHA Annual Survey. Inverse probability weights were then calculated based on the hospital size, region of the country, ownership type (for-profit, government, non-profit), teaching status, multihospital system membership status, urban or rural location, and the presence of a cardiac intensive care unit.