Cost-related underuse of medications in older adults: ELSI-Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with cost-related underuse of medications in a nationally representative sample of Brazilians aged 50 years and over. METHODS: Among the 9,412 participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSIBrazil), 6,014 reported using at least one medication on regular basis and were included in the analysis. Underuse of medications was by stopping taking or reducing the number of tablets or the dose of any prescribed medication for financial reasons. The theoretical framework used for the selection of the exploratory variables included predisposing factors, enabling factors, and factors of need. Associations were tested by Poisson regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of underuse of medications was 10.6%. After adjustments for relevant covariables, positive and statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) with the outcome were found for females [prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.39], sufficiency of the family income for expenses (PR = 1.74 for sometimes and PR 2.42 for never), frequency with which the physician explains about the disease and treatment (PR = 1.31 for rarely or never), number of medications used (PR = 1.39 for 2–4 and 1.53 for 5 or more), fair (PR = 2.02) and poor or very poor self-rated health (PR = 2.92), and a previous medical diagnosis of depression (PR = 1.69). Negative associations were observed for the age groups of 60–79 years (PR = 0.75) and 80 years and over (PR = 0.43), socioeconomic status of the household (PR = 0.70, 0.79, and 0.60 for the second, third, and fourth quartile, respectively), and private health plan coverage (PR = 0.79). There were no associations between hypertension and self-reported diabetes and underuse of medications. CONCLUSIONS: Cost-related underuse of medications is multidimensional and complex, and it covers socio-demographic characteristics, health conditions, and the use of health services. The explanation about the disease and its treatment to the patient and the expansion of the universal access to pharmaceutical care can minimize the risks of underuse.OBJETIVO: Determinar a prevalência e os fatores associados à subutilização de medicamentos por motivos financeiros em amostra nacional representativa da população brasileira com 50 anos ou mais. MÉTODOS: Entre 9.412 participantes do Estudo Longitudinal sobre a Saúde dos Idosos Brasileiros (ELSI-Brasil), 6.014 informaram usar medicamento(s) de uso contínuo e foram incluídos na análise. A subutilização de medicamentos foi definida como ter, por motivos financeiros, deixado de tomar ou ter diminuído o número de comprimidos ou a dose de algum medicamento receitado pelo médico. O marco teórico empregado para a seleção das variáveis exploratórias incluiu fatores predisponentes, capacitantes e de necessidade. As associações foram testadas por meio de regressão de Poisson. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de subutilização de medicamentos foi de 10,6%. Após ajustes pertinentes, associações positivas e estatisticamente significantes (p < 0,05) com o desfecho foram observadas para o sexo feminino [razão de prevalência (RP) = 1,39]; renda familiar às vezes (RP = 1,74) e nunca (RP = 2,94) suficiente para as despesas; frequência com que o médico explica sobre a doença e tratamento (RP = 1,31 para raramente ou nunca); número de medicamentos utilizados (RP = 1,39 para 2–4 e 1,53 para 5 ou mais); autoavaliação da saúde razoável (RP = 2,02) e ruim ou muito ruim (RP = 2,92); e diagnóstico médico de depressão (RP = 1,69). Associações negativas foram observadas para idade igual a 60–79 (RP = 0,75) e 80 anos ou mais (RP = 0,43), posição socioeconômica do domicílio (RP = 0,70; 0,79 e 0,60 para o segundo, terceiro e quartil superior) e cobertura por plano privado de saúde (RP = 0,79). Não foram observadas associações entre hipertensão e diabetes autorreferidos e subutilização de medicamentos. CONCLUSÕES: A subutilização de medicamentos por motivos financeiros tem caráter multidimensional e complexo, abrangendo características sociodemográficas, de condições de saúde e de utilização de serviços de saúde. Esclarecer ao paciente sobre a doença e o seu tratamento, e ampliar o acesso universal à assistência farmacêutica, podem minimizar os riscos da subutilização

Hospitalizations and Deaths Among Adults With Cardiovascular Disease Who Underuse Medications Because of Cost A Longitudinal Analysis

Context: It is well-documented that the financial burden of out-ofpocket expenditures for prescription drugs often leads people with medication-sensitive chronic illnesses to restrict their use of these medications. Less is known about the extent to which such costrelated medication underuse is associated with increases in subsequent hospitalizations and deaths. Objective: We compared the risk of hospitalizations among 5401 and of death among 6135 middle-aged and elderly adults with one or more cardiovascular diseases (diabetes, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and history of stroke) according to whether participants did or did not report restricting prescription medications because of cost. Design and Setting: A retrospective biannual cohort study across 4 cross-sectional waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of adults older than age 50. Using multivariate logistic regression to adjust for baseline differences in sociodemographic and health characteristics, we assessed subsequent hospitalizations and deaths between 1998 and 2006 for respondents who reported that they had or had not taken less medicine than prescribed because of cost. Results: Respondents with cardiovascular disease who reported underusing medications due to cost were significantly more likely to be hospitalized in the next 2 years, even after adjusting for other patient characteristics (adjusted predicted probability of 47% compared with 38%, P Ͻ 0.001). The more survey waves respondents reported cost-related medication underuse during 1998 to 2004, the higher the probability of being hospitalized in 2006 (adjusted predicted probability of 54% among respondents reporting cost-related medication underuse in all 4 survey waves compared with 42% among respondents reporting no underuse, P Ͻ 0.001). There was no independent association of cost-related medication underuse with death. Conclusions: In this nationally representative cohort, middle-aged and elderly adults with cardiovascular disease who reported cutting back on medication use because of cost were more likely to report being hospitalized over a subsequent 2-year period after they had reported medication underuse. The more extensively respondents reported cost-related underuse over time, the higher their adjusted predicted probability of subsequent hospitalization

Geriatric pharmacotherapy : optimisation through integrated approach in the hospital setting

Since older patients are more vulnerable to adverse drug-related events, there is a need to ensure appropriate prescribing in these patients in order to prevent misuse, overuse and underuse of drugs. Different tools and strategies have been developed to reduce inappropriate prescribing; the available measures can be divided into medication assessment tools, and specific interventions to reduce inappropriate prescribing. Implicit criteria of inappropriate prescribing focus on appropriate dosing, search for drug-drug interactions, and increase adherence. Explicit criteria are consensus-based standards focusing on drugs and diseases and include lists of drugs to avoid in general or lists combining drugs with clinical data. These criteria take into consideration differences between patients, and stand for a medication review, by using a systematic approach. Different types of interventions exist in order to reduce inappropriate prescribing in older patients, such as: educational interventions, computerized decision support systems, pharmacist-based interventions, and geriatric assessment. The effects of these interventions have been studied, sometimes in a multifaceted approach combining different techniques, and all types seem to have positive effects on appropriateness of prescribing. Interdisciplinary teamwork within the integrative pharmaceutical care is important for improving of outcomes and safety of drug therapy. The pharmaceutical care process consists offour steps, which are cyclic for an individual patient. These steps are pharmaceutical anamnesis, medication review, design and follow-up of a pharmaceutical care plan. A standardized approach is necessary for the adequate detection and evaluation of drug-related problems. Furthermore, it is clear that drug therapy should be reviewed in-depth, by having full access to medical records, laboratory values and nursing notes. Although clinical pharmacists perform the pharmaceutical care process to manage the patient’s drug therapy in every day clinical practice, the physician takes the ultimate responsibility for the care of the patient in close collaboration with nurses

Race/Ethnicity and Economic Differences in Cost-Related Medication Underuse Among Insured Adults With Diabetes The Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes Study

ObjectiveTo examine racial/ethnic and economic variation in cost-related medication underuse among insured adults with diabetes.Research design and methodsWe surveyed 5,086 participants from the multicenter Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes Study. Respondents reported whether they used less medication because of cost in the past 12 months. We examined unadjusted and adjusted rates of cost-related medication underuse, using hierarchical regression, to determine whether race/ethnicity differences still existed after accounting for economic, health, and other demographic variables.ResultsParticipants were 48% white, 14% African American, 14% Latino, 15% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 8% other. Overall, 14% reported cost-related medication underuse. Unadjusted rates were highest for Latinos (23%) and African Americans (17%) compared with whites (13%), Asian/Pacific Islanders (11%), and others (15%). In multivariate analyses, race/ethnicity significantly predicted cost-related medication underuse (P = 0.048). However, adjusted rates were only slightly higher for Latinos (14%) than whites (10%) (P = 0.026) and were not significantly different for African Americans (11%), Asian/Pacific Islanders (7%), and others (11%). Income and out-of-pocket drug costs showed the greatest differences in adjusted rates of cost-related medication underuse (15 vs. 5% for participants with income $50,000 and 24 vs. 7$150 per month vs. ConclusionsOne in seven participants reported cost-related medication underuse. Rates were highest among African Americans and Latinos but were related to lower incomes and higher out-of-pocket drug costs in these groups. Interventions to decrease racial/ethnic disparities in cost-related medication underuse should focus on decreasing financial barriers to medications

Medicare Part D: Avoiding the “Donut Hole” and Cost-related Medication Nonadherence

Problem: Studies have shown that only ~50% of patients with chronic conditions take their medications as prescribed. Patient nonadherence can be due to forgetfulness, desire to avoid adverse side effects, and high costs of medications, particularly in patients with low incomes, multiple chronic health problems, and no prescription coverage. Attempting to reduce medication costs by taking less than prescribed dose does not allow for full therapeutic benefits, and may put patients at increased risk for declining health. Consequences of cost-related nonadherence (CRN) and underuse: increased ED visits, psychiatric admissions, nursing home admissions, and decreased health status. In patients with asthma, medication nonadherence has led to increased hospitalization rates and other adverse outcomes. Up to 88% of patients with asthma do not properly follow their inhaled medication regimen. CRN behaviors are influenced by financial pressures and polypharmacy. However, physicians and other members of the health system may prevent these behaviors by fostering trust, prescribing cheaper medications, and providing access to prescription assistance programs.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1011/thumbnail.jp

The Relationship Between Older Adults' Knowledge of Their Drug Coverage and Medication Cost Problems

To determine whether chronically ill patients have gaps in knowledge about their prescription drug coverage and establish the relationship between gaps and medication cost problems. Design : Nationwide, cross-sectional survey. Setting : Nationwide survey conducted via the Internet. Participants : Three thousand one hundred nineteen adults aged 50 and older (1,400 of whom were aged ≥65) who had prescription drug coverage and at least one chronic illness. Measurements : Patients were asked about features of their drug benefits and whether they had experienced problems due to medication costs in the prior year. Results : Twenty-five percent of respondents reported not knowing their usual prescription copayments, and 41% did not know whether there were caps on their drug coverage. Nonwhite race and lower income were independent risk factors for lack of knowledge about these aspects of pharmacy benefits. Lack of knowledge regarding the limits of coverage was associated with a greater likelihood of cutting back on medication use because of cost pressures, forgoing basic needs because of medication costs, borrowing money to pay for prescriptions, and worrying about medication costs (all P <.05). Conclusion : Many older adults with prescription drug coverage do not know important features of their pharmacy benefits. Racial minorities and those with low incomes may have the greatest difficulty understanding coverage and as a result may be at greatest risk for underusing their benefits. Education about Medicare reforms and other efforts to increase prescription coverage should accompany these policies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66286/1/j.1532-5415.2005.00527.x.pd

Factors Influencing Cost-Related Nonadherence to Medication in Older Adults: A Conceptually Based Approach

Although multiple noncost factors likely influence a patient's propensity to forego treatment in the face of cost pressures, little is known about how patients' sociodemographic characteristics, physical and behavioral health comorbidities, and prescription regimens influence cost-related nonadherence (CRN) to medications. We sought to determine both financial and nonfinancial factors associated with CRN in a nationally representative sample of older adults.We used a conceptual model developed by Piette and colleagues that describes financial and nonfinancial factors that could increase someone's risk of CRN, including income, comorbidities, and medication regimen complexity. We used data from the 2004 wave of the Health and Retirement Study and the 2005 HRS Prescription Drug Study to examine the influence of factors within each of these domains on measures of CRN (including not filling, stopping, or skipping doses) in a nationally representative sample of Americans age 65+ in 2005.Of the 3071 respondents who met study criteria, 20% reported some form of CRN in 2005. As in prior studies, indicators of financial stress such as higher out-of-pocket payments for medications and lower net worth were significantly associated with CRN in multivariable analyses. Controlling for these economic pressures, relatively younger respondents (ages 65–74) and depressive symptoms were consistent independent risk factors for CRN.Noncost factors influenced patients' propensity to forego treatment even in the context of cost concerns. Future research encompassing clinician and health system factors should identify additional determinants of CRN beyond patients' cost pressures.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78680/1/j.1524-4733.2009.00679.x.pd

Older patients' prescriptions screening in the community pharmacy: development of the Ghent Older People's Prescriptions community Pharmacy Screening (GheOP3S) tool

Background: Ageing of the population often leads to polypharmacy. Consequently, potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) becomes more frequent. Systematic screening for PIP in older patients in primary care could yield a large improvement in health outcomes, possibly an important task for community pharmacists. In this article, we develop an explicit screening tool to detect relevant PIP that can be used in the typical community pharmacy practice, adapted to the European market. Methods: Eleven panellists participated in a two-round RAND/UCLA (Research and Development/University of California, Los Angeles) process, including a round zero meeting, a literature review, a first written evaluation round, a second face-to-face evaluation round and, finally, a selection of those items that are applicable in the contemporary community pharmacy. Results: Eighteen published lists of PIP for older patients were retrieved from the literature, mentioning 398 different items. After the two-round RAND/UCLA process, 99 clinically relevant items were considered suitable to screen for in a community pharmacy practice. A panel of seven community pharmacists selected 83 items, feasible in the contemporary community pharmacy practice, defining the final GheOP3S tool. Conclusion: A novel explicit screening tool (GheOP3S) was developed to be used for PIP screening in the typical community pharmacy practice