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 And unfortunately, people who can't afford medications are more
likely to need more emergency department (ED) treatments and
hospital admissions, study co-author Lisa Ambrose from Spectrum
Health Hospitals, Michigan told Reuters Health.
As reported in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Ambrose
and colleagues analyzed survey responses collected in 2017 and 2018
from 281 patients, age 65 and older, including 200 who visited an
urban ED and 81 who went to a rural ED.
Although the vast majority, 99%, had some kind of health insurance,
14% of the urban patients and 26% of the rural patients said they
didn't always comply with doctors' instructions for taking medicine
because of the cost.
Seniors who face high out-of-pocket costs for their medicines are an
especially vulnerable population, as earlier research has shown they
are less likely to buy prescribed drugs or use them appropriately,
the researchers note.
Methods commonly described to pay for medicines included: pharmacy
discount programs, spending less on basic needs like food and heat,
borrowing money, skipping doses of medicines to save money,
increased credit card debt and asking a relative to buy medicines.
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In both the urban and the rural groups, patients who had trouble
paying for medicines were more likely to be taking multiple
medications, to have been hospitalized recently, to be having
trouble with activities of daily living and to have depression or
dementia and a lack of social support.
"Maybe it would be beneficial (for clinicians) to ask patients
whether or not they feel like they have problems paying for their
medications," said Cody Gibson, a researcher at UAB School of
Medicine in Alabama who has studied other emergency medicine issues
but was not involved in the current survey.
Those who say yes could be assigned to a staff member who would help
them find ways to get their medications for cheaper prices, or help
them ask about alternative treatments, he said.
Indeed, the research team says social workers are invaluable in
helping older patients access drugs at lower costs.
"Directing elderly patients to appropriate health services can help
them to reduce their medication costs and . . . their general
medical costs as well," Ambrose said. "Social workers in the ED can
provide information on available services that may be appropriate
for the needs of each individual patient."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2WYzHvz American Journal of Emergency
Medicine, online May 4, 2019.
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