Consequences of cost barriers to prescriptions: cohort study in Aotearoa New Zealand.
N Z Med J
; 137(1595): 48-63, 2024 May 17.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38754113
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
A NZ$5 co-payment prescription charge was removed in July 2023 but may be reinstated. Here we quantify the health impact and cost of not being able to afford this charge.METHODS:
We linked New Zealand Health Surveys (2013/2014-2018/2019) to hospitalisation data using data available in Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI). Cox proportional-hazards models compared time to hospitalisation between those who had faced a cost barrier to collecting a prescription and those who had not.RESULTS:
Of the 81,626 total survey respondents, 72,243 were available for analysis in IDI. A further 516 were excluded to give an analysis dataset of 71,502. Of these, 5,889 (8.2%) reported not collecting a prescription due to cost in the previous year. Among people who faced a cost barrier, 60.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 58.7-61.2%) were admitted to hospital during the study period, compared to 43.9% (95% CI 43.6-44.3%) of those who did not. Having adjusted for socio-demographic variables, people who faced a cost barrier were 34% (hazard ratio 1.34; 95% CI 1.29-1.39) more likely to be admitted to hospital than those who did not. Annual avoidable hospitalisation costs-were prescription co-payments to remain free-are estimated at $32.4 million per year based on the assumption of a causal relationship between unmet need for prescription medicines and subsequent hospitalisation.CONCLUSIONS:
The revenue to the health system from co-payments may be offset by the costs associated with avoidable hospitalisations.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Hospitalização
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
N Z Med J
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article