Impact of the Cost of Prescription Drugs on Clinical Outcomes in Indigent Patients with Heart Disease
Why the study?
Does providing free prescription drugs improve disease control, drug adherence, and reduce hospitalizations in indigent patients with heart disease?
Population
163 indigent patients with heart disease who were uninsured or whose insurance plan did not provide…
Comparison
Assistance in obtaining prescription drugs free… vs 6-month baseline period prior to receiving…
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
6 to 24 months
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Association supports testing free prescriptions in indigent cardiac patients; leaves open confirmation in randomized trials.
Structured PICO
Does providing free prescription drugs improve disease control, drug adherence, and reduce hospitalizations in indigent patients with heart disease?
P
Population
163 indigent patients with heart disease who were uninsured or whose insurance plan did not provide prescription drug coverage
I
Intervention
Assistance in obtaining prescription drugs free of charge
C
Comparator
6-month baseline period prior to receiving prescription assistance
O
Outcome
Cardiovascular outcome measures (international normalized ratio [INR], blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol, and hospitalizations) and drug adherence after 6 months of prescription assistancesurrogate
Providing free cardiovascular prescription drugs to indigent patients significantly improves drug adherence and disease control while reducing hospitalizations.
Cite This Study
Schoen et al. (2001) studied this question.