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Use of prescription drug samples and patient assistance programs, and the role of doctor-patient communication.
- Source :
- JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine; Dec2011, Vol. 26 Issue 12, p1458-1464, 7p, 4 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- <bold>Background: </bold>Cost-related underuse of medications is common among older adults, who seldom discuss medication costs with their physicians. Some older adults may use free drug samples or industry-sponsored patient assistance programs (PAP) in hopes of lowering out-of-pocket costs, although the long-term effect of these programs on drug spending is unclear.<bold>Objective: </bold>To examine older adults' use of industry-sponsored strategies to reduce out-of-pocket drug costs and the association between doctor-patient communication and use of these programs.<bold>Design: </bold>Cross-sectional analysis of a 2006 nationally representative survey of Medicare beneficiaries.<bold>Participants: </bold>14,322 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries age ≥65.<bold>Main Measures: </bold>We conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses of the association between receipt of free samples and participation in PAPs with sociodemographic characteristics, health status, access to care, drug coverage, medication cost burden, and doctor-patient communication.<bold>Key Results: </bold>51.4% of seniors reported receiving at least one free sample over the last 12 months and 29.2% reported receiving free samples more than once. In contrast, only 1.3% of seniors reported participating in an industry-sponsored PAP. Higher income respondents were more likely to report free sample receipt than low-income respondents (50.8% vs. 43.8%, p < 0.001) and less likely to report participating in a PAP (0.42% vs. 2.2%, p < 0.001). In multivariate analyses, those who reported talking to their doctor about the cost of their medications had more than twice the odds of receiving samples as those who did not (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.95-2.42).<bold>Conclusions: </bold>In 2006, over half of seniors in Medicare received free samples, but only 1.3% reported receiving any medications from a patient assistance program. Doctor-patient communication is strongly associated with use of these programs, which has important implications for clinical care regardless of whether these programs are viewed as drivers of prescription costs or a remedy for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- DRUG prescribing
MEDICAL assistance
PHYSICIAN-patient relations
MEDICAL care costs
MEDICAL care for older people
MEDICARE beneficiaries
CROSS-sectional method
DRUGS & economics
ECONOMIC impact
MEDICARE
ECONOMICS
PUBLIC welfare
DRUG therapy
COMMUNICATION
COMPARATIVE studies
RESEARCH methodology
MEDICAL cooperation
RESEARCH
RESEARCH funding
USER charges
EVALUATION research
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 08848734
- Volume :
- 26
- Issue :
- 12
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 67186633
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1801-y