Step therapy can be best described as which of the following?

Step therapy is best understood as a protocol where patients are required to try one or more alternative, typically more cost-effective therapies before they can move on to coverage for more expensive medications. This practice is designed to ensure that patients first attempt to manage their condition with proven lower-cost therapies, which helps in containing overall medication costs and encourages the use of effective treatments that have shown good results.

This approach often involves starting with generic medications or other therapies that are considered safe and effective before progressing to different treatments, including brand-name or more costly options. As a result, step therapy can lead to better health outcomes for patients by ensuring that less invasive or expensive therapies are utilized first, while also managing healthcare costs.

Other choices represent different concepts within pharmaceutical care or healthcare coverage, but they do not accurately reflect the process or intent behind step therapy. For instance, the requirement to start with alternatives before being approved for more expensive options is a core feature that distinguishes step therapy from other policies in medication management.