Ashra Kolhatkar1, Lucy Cheng1, Steven G Morgan1, Laurie J Goldsmith1, Irfan A Dhalla1, Anne M Holbrook1, Michael R Law2. 1. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (Kolhatkar, Cheng, Law), School of Population and Public Health; School of Population and Public Health (Morgan), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Goldsmith), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Health Quality Ontario (Dhalla); Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (Dhalla), St. Michael's Hospital; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (Dhalla), Toronto, Ont.; Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (Holbrook), Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. 2. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (Kolhatkar, Cheng, Law), School of Population and Public Health; School of Population and Public Health (Morgan), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Goldsmith), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Health Quality Ontario (Dhalla); Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (Dhalla), St. Michael's Hospital; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (Dhalla), Toronto, Ont.; Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (Holbrook), Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. michael.law@ubc.ca.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Out-of-pocket drug costs lead many Canadians to engage in cost-related nonadherence to prescription medications, but our understanding of other consequences such as borrowing money remains incomplete. In this descriptive study, we sought to quantify the frequency of borrowing to pay for prescription drugs in Canada and characteristics of Canadians who borrowed money for this purpose. METHODS: In partnership with Statistics Canada, we designed and administered a cross-sectional rapid-response module in the Canadian Community Health Survey administered by telephone to Canadians aged 12 years or more between January and June 2016. We restricted our analyses to participants who responded to the question regarding borrowing money to pay for prescription drugs and used logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with borrowing. RESULTS: A total of 28 091 Canadians responded to the survey (overall response rate 61.8%). The weighted proportion of respondents who reported having borrowed money to pay for prescription drugs in the previous year was 2.5% (95% confidence interval 2.2%-2.8%), an estimated 731 000 Canadians. The odds of borrowing were higher among younger adults, people in poor health and people lacking prescription drug insurance. Other factors associated with increased adjusted odds of borrowing were having 2 or more chronic conditions, low household income and higher out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. INTERPRETATION: Many Canadians reported borrowing money to pay for out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, and borrowing was more prevalent among already vulnerable groups that also report other compensatory behaviours to address challenges in paying for prescription drugs. Future research should investigate policy responses intended to increase equity in access to prescription drugs. Copyright 2018, Joule Inc. or its licensors.
BACKGROUND: Out-of-pocket drug costs lead many Canadians to engage in cost-related nonadherence to prescription medications, but our understanding of other consequences such as borrowing money remains incomplete. In this descriptive study, we sought to quantify the frequency of borrowing to pay for prescription drugs in Canada and characteristics of Canadians who borrowed money for this purpose. METHODS: In partnership with Statistics Canada, we designed and administered a cross-sectional rapid-response module in the Canadian Community Health Survey administered by telephone to Canadians aged 12 years or more between January and June 2016. We restricted our analyses to participants who responded to the question regarding borrowing money to pay for prescription drugs and used logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with borrowing. RESULTS: A total of 28 091 Canadians responded to the survey (overall response rate 61.8%). The weighted proportion of respondents who reported having borrowed money to pay for prescription drugs in the previous year was 2.5% (95% confidence interval 2.2%-2.8%), an estimated 731 000 Canadians. The odds of borrowing were higher among younger adults, people in poor health and people lacking prescription drug insurance. Other factors associated with increased adjusted odds of borrowing were having 2 or more chronic conditions, low household income and higher out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. INTERPRETATION: Many Canadians reported borrowing money to pay for out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, and borrowing was more prevalent among already vulnerable groups that also report other compensatory behaviours to address challenges in paying for prescription drugs. Future research should investigate policy responses intended to increase equity in access to prescription drugs. Copyright 2018, Joule Inc. or its licensors.
Authors: Stephen B Soumerai; Marsha Pierre-Jacques; Fang Zhang; Dennis Ross-Degnan; Alyce S Adams; Jerry Gurwitz; Gerald Adler; Dana Gelb Safran Journal: Arch Intern Med Date: 2006-09-25
Authors: Jeanne M Madden; Amy J Graves; Fang Zhang; Alyce S Adams; Becky A Briesacher; Dennis Ross-Degnan; Jerry H Gurwitz; Marsha Pierre-Jacques; Dana Gelb Safran; Gerald S Adler; Stephen B Soumerai Journal: JAMA Date: 2008-04-23 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: G Caleb Alexander; Lawrence P Casalino; Chien-Wen Tseng; Diane McFadden; David O Meltzer Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2004-08 Impact factor: 5.128