Reading the 90 day price history on a provider page

Each provider page on The Dose Club shows the pharmacy's current complete monthly costs for Wegovy and Mounjaro by dose, its GPhC registration line, the community rating and a 90 day price history. The history is the part that takes a moment to read, because it is a step line, and this article explains what each part of it means.

Why the line steps

A pharmacy's price does not drift. It sits at one figure until the pharmacy changes it, then sits at the next. The collector checks each provider every one to three hours, but it writes a row to the history only when the figure changes, so the history is a list of moments when a new price took effect. The chart draws that list as a step: flat from one change to the next, with a point marking each change.

Two parts of the line are drawn in for context. At the left edge, the price that was in effect before the window began is carried in, so the line starts at the right height; hovering there shows "Unchanged since before this window". At the right edge, the current price is extended to now. Hover over or focus the chart and use the left and right arrow keys to move between changes; each stop shows the figure and the date it took effect. A table view under the chart lists the same changes with the size of each one.

A flat line is a checked line

Because rows are written only on change, a flat line over several weeks means the collector looked many times and found the same figure. The time of the last check is on the price cell in the table above the chart. A cell whose last check is more than 24 hours old shows "checking" in place of a figure, and the chart keeps the last confirmed step until a new check confirms the price or records a change.

Steps that arrive late

A move of more than 20 percent in either direction is held for review before it is published. While it is held, the table and the chart keep the previous confirmed figure. If the review confirms the move, the step appears at the time of the check that found it, so a large step can appear on the chart a little after it happened. If the review finds an error, nothing is added and the previous figure stands. The point of the delay is that a wrong figure never appears, even briefly.

Corrections

A member's wrong price report that the team verifies becomes a correction, entered by hand with its breakdown and source. A correction is a change like any other: the cell updates and a step appears in the history at the time it was entered.

The 7 day arrow

The table shows a small arrow next to a price that has moved in the last 7 days, with the size of the move. The arrow compares the current figure with the price that was in effect 7 days ago, so a price that rose and fell back within the week shows no arrow even though the chart shows two steps.

What the chart is for

It records what happened at one provider; a run of steps down says nothing about the next one. It compares one provider with itself over time, where the prices page compares providers with each other on the day. It never compares one medicine with another. And it is a reading of the provider's page at a moment, so the figure to rely on is the one on the provider's own website when you order. The disclaimer under every price table says the same.

Switching medicine and dose

The chart shows one series at a time. Tabs above it switch between the medicines and doses the provider lists, so you can see whether a change hit one dose or the whole range. A dose the provider does not list has no series and shows a dash in the table.

Sources

• The Dose Club, How The Dose Club checks pharmacy prices, and What happens when a price moves more than 20 percent (articles on this site)

This article is information, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber about your treatment.