Employer and consumer perspectives.

This paper reviews various published reports from surveys on employer opinion, perception of needs, and trends with regard to healthcare benefits; the consumer perspective regarding healthcare is also discussed. Surveys indicate that businesses want continuous evidence that high-quality healthcare can positively impact company profits. Employers and labor unions are demanding more cost-effective healthcare. At both employer and consumer levels, greater patient education is needed, as well as traditional educational media. Direct-to-consumer advertising and use of the World Wide Web are increasingly important in enabling consumers to participate more fully in their own lipid-related decision-making. Finally, the transition of lipid-lowering drugs to over-the-counter accessibility has great implications with respect to issues of patient preferences and willingness to pay in the evolving healthcare environment. Groups in the United States, such as the National Committee on Quality Assurance and the Foundation for Accountability, are setting standards and beginning to assess both process and outcomes in patient care. Further collaborative efforts are needed that raise standards of care and stimulate more cost-effective healthcare. The pharmacoeconomics and outcomes data gathered will, one hopes, also demonstrate to global businesses the positive financial impact of high-quality healthcare and appropriate lipid therapy.