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Diabetic Patients Find Increasing Difficulty Affording Medications
June 5, 2006
By Josh Murphy
Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, report an increase in the percentage of diabetic patients who indicate problems affording their medications over an 8-year timespan1. These patients also report an increase in outpatient visits in this same time period.
Dr. Richard Grant and colleagues studied National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 1997-2004 on self-reported diabetic patients (N=17,039). Patients with gestational diabetes were excluded.
Diabetic patients reported significantly more physician visits per year compared to non-diabetic patients (7 vs 4.3 visits/year, P<0.001). There was a significant 30% increase in the proportion of patients reporting problems affording prescription medications (Figure 1). Corresponding with this increase was a rise in outpatient visits in years 1997 and 2004 among patients reporting increased difficulty (6.91 vs 7.33 visits/year, P<0.001).
Investigators also noted increases in diabetes duration and body mass index (Figures 2 and 3, respectively). There was a significant decline in insulin use (Figure 4), while use of oral hypoglycemic medications increased significantly (Figure 5).
There were no differences in the proportion of patients reporting private insurance coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, or no insurance. “Rising out-of-pocket medication expenses, even among patients with private insurance, may partially explain this finding,” investigators note. Further, they summarize that failure to lower diabetes risk factors during this time period “may have been undermined by patients’ inability to afford their medications.”
“Should this trend continue, clinicians can expect even greater futility in their attempts to achieve diabetes goals,” they summarize.
References
- Grant RW, McCarthy EP, Singer DE, et al. Frequent Outpatient Contact and Decreasing Medication Affordability in Patients With Diabetes From 1997 to 2004. Diabetes Care 2006;29;1386-1388.
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