Survey says that many people don’t take prescriptions because of cost
March 31st, 2011 - 8:17 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattNew York, Mar 31 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A new survey has revealed that as much as 20 percent of patients who are given prescription do not take the drugs primarily due to the fact that they cannot afford the cost.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania led by Dr. Karin Rhodes. The survey involved about 1,500 volunteers. The researchers distributed questionnaires to the participants and asked them about how they handle prescriptions given to them.
The researchers identified that one in five of the respondents failed to get the medication prescribed for them because of the cost of the drug. Interestingly the researchers also identified that doctors were not aware of the trend.
Subsequently the researchers propose that doctors should ask patients if they could afford the medication before they hand out the prescription. If that is done, doctors could identify if they should give an alternative prescription which is cheaper.
The finding of the study was published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Rhodes concluded that, “Clinicians need to ask their patients if they can afford to fill their prescriptions, and work with them to make sure they get the medications they are prescribed.”
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Tags: academic emergency medicine, doctors, drugs, karin, medication, medications, medicine, new survey, participants, prescriptions, questionnaires, respondents, rhodes, university of pennsylvania, volunteers