However, research shows that increased use of mail order drugs can improve patient compliance.Grants from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases funded this study.
- Before adjusting for other variables, white patients were more likely to obtain drugs by mail Hispanics (61.0 % vs. 37.1 %) and being in the highest quartile of socioeconomic status (27.5 to % vs. 17.8 %).
The study has some limitations. For example, the results should be confirmed by a randomized controlled trial.
The study results appear in the online edition of the Journal of Managed Care.
The results were consistent for all three classes of drugs, including drugs to control diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, said co-researcher Julie A. Schmittdiel, Ph.D., a researcher at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.
In other words, our study is able to isolate the use of mail-order pharmacies in particular, the results are not influenced by differences in the cost or the number of pills with every deployment, Duru said.
For the 12-month study, researchers analyzed data from 2006-2007 for the drug filling 13,922 members of Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. They called it a good fit like having a drug available on hand and at least 80 % of the time.
The accession of drug research is generally focused on the factors of poor patient compliance, leading to a blame the patient approach to non-adherence, said Dr. O. Kenrik Duru, Principal Investigator of the study and assistant professor in the division of general internal medicine and health services at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Our work helps to put the issue in a broader perspective, Duru said. Our results indicate that mail order pharmacies to streamline the acquisition process of the drug that is associated with better adherence drugs.
In addition to Duru and Schmittdiel, researchers have included Wendy Dyer, Melissa Parker, Connie Uratsu, James Chan and Andrew J. Karter of the research division of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California.
Buy drugs by mail may encourage patients to follow your doctor prescribes medication, a new study.
While other research has examined the association between the costs of drugs and mail order and local pharmacies, this is the first study to examine the relationship between the type of pharmacy and medication adherence. It also controls the differences in out-of-pocket costs and the supply of drugs (in days) between mail order and local pharmacy users, defines something different are not included.
General internal medicine and health services research in the department of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA provides a unique environment for interactive collaborative efforts between health services researchers and clinical experts with experience of working based on evidence. Over 100 of the Division of clinicians and researchers are engaged in a wide variety of projects that examine issues related to access to care, quality of care, health measurement, physician education, clinical ethics, medical and communications the patient. The researchers of the division close working relationships with economists, statisticians, sociologists and other specialists throughout UCLA and frequently collaborate with their counterparts from the RAND Corp. and Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science.
- After adjusting for other variables, whites were more likely to use e for pharmacies (24.1 %) were Asia / Pacific Islanders (8.4 %), Hispanics (5.2 per %) African-Americans (4.0 %) and individuals of mixed race (8.0 %).