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The Myth of Average: Why Individual Patient Differences Matter

Article

In the newly-updated booklet, The Myth of Average: Why Individual Patient Differences Matter, the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) explores the barriers patients face when navigating the health care system and identifies opportunities for health care decision-makers to build better health care benefits and improve patient access to needed treatments.

Every person’s health needs are unique thanks to factors such as age, genetics, racial and ethnic background, chronic conditions, sex, gender, environment, and socioeconomic circumstances. These factors can affect how patients respond to treatments.

Yet health care and insurance coverage are often designed for the “average” patient, assuming all people have the same needs or the same treatment responses. This can create barriers for some patients in accessing the most effective care for them.

In the newly-updated booklet, The Myth of Average: Why Individual Patient Differences Matter, the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) explores the barriers patients face when navigating the health care system and identifies opportunities for health care decision-makers to build better health care benefits and improve patient access to needed treatments.

Read more about the announcement here.

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