Family Med

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

The impact of prescription charges on asthma patients is uneven and unpredictable: evidence from qualitative interviews
Primary Care Respiratory Journal, 06/01/09

Schafheutle et al. - Interviewees were aged between 21 and 59, 21 were women, 24 were paying individual prescription charges, and six had prepayment certificates (PPCs). Most had a beta2-agonist ‘reliever’ and a steroid ‘preventer’ inhaler. Prescription charges posed affordability issues for some, and for two patients cost-related reduction in ‘preventer’ use affected asthma control negatively. Many described various ways of keeping medication cost down. Affordability issues, negative views on paying charges, and whether interviewees viewed their asthma medication as essential, were influential factors. Steroid inhalers were viewed more commonly as being less essential and affected by cost. The episodic nature of asthma meant that predicting benefit from PPCs was difficult. This study strengthens existing evidence that medication cost is a factor in asthma patients’ management decisions, with a potential cost-related impact on asthma control.

Related Articles

See all related articles

Clinical importance of identifying immunoglobulin E-mediated disease in patients with Asthma
Clinical Cornerstone, 10/01/09    Relevance Score: 96%

Bone mineral density and fractures in older men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma
Osteoporosis International, 10/13/09    Relevance Score: 95%

The Saudi Initiative for asthma
Annals of Thoracic Medicine, 10/13/09    Relevance Score: 95%

Consistently very poorly controlled asthma, as defined by the impairment domain of the Expert Panel Report 3 guidelines, increases risk for future severe asthma exacerbations in The Epidemiology and Natural History of Asthma: Outcomes and Treatment Regimens (TENOR) study
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 10/09/09    Relevance Score: 95%

Identification of Asthma Phenotypes using Cluster Analysis in the Severe Asthma Research Program
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 11/09/09    Relevance Score: 94%

Today in General Medicine...keeping you current

Receive free subspecialty "5-minute updates" via email

The Course of Nonspecific Chest Pain in Primary Care
Archives of Internal Medicine, 02/09/10

Irregular Heavy Drinking Occasions and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
American Journal of Epidemiology, 02/09/10

Effect of targeting normal fasting glucose levels with basal insulin glargine on glycaemic variability and risk of hypoglycaemia: a randomized, controlled study in patients with early Type 2 diabetes
Diabetic Medicine, 02/09/10

 See all of General Medicine