Schafheutle Ellen I
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Prim Care Respir J. 2009 Dec;18(4):266-72. doi: 10.4104/pcrj.2009.00012.
To explore whether, and how, prescription charges affect asthma patients' disease management behaviour.
Thirty qualitative interviews.
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.
探讨处方费用是否以及如何影响哮喘患者的疾病管理行为。
进行30次定性访谈。
受访者年龄在21岁至59岁之间，21人为女性，24人需支付个人处方费用，6人持有预付费证书（PPC）。大多数人有β2受体激动剂“缓解剂”和类固醇“预防剂”吸入器。处方费用给一些人带来了支付能力问题，有两名患者因费用问题减少“预防剂”的使用，对哮喘控制产生了负面影响。许多人描述了各种降低药物成本的方法。支付能力问题、对支付费用的负面看法以及受访者是否认为他们的哮喘药物是必需的，都是影响因素。类固醇吸入器更常被认为不那么必需且受成本影响。哮喘的发作性意味着难以预测PPC的益处。
本研究强化了现有证据，即药物成本是哮喘患者管理决策的一个因素，可能对哮喘控制产生与成本相关的影响。
