Jump to comment:
- RE: Compliance (Blister/Bubble) packs – Be aware of the hidden cost
I agree with Law et al(1) that cost of therapy is an important factor that may result in sub-optimal adherence to medical therapy. In addition, barriers to adherence are numerous including the treatment of asymptomatic conditions or risk factors, complex medical regimens, side effects, drug-drug interactions, poor understanding of the individual patient. To improve adherence to therapy, various modalities have been used in clinical practice including compliance packaging (also known as blister packs), that have their benefits(2) and limitations (Table). However, the major limitation being the increased cost of therapy, as the blister packs are often filled by the pharmacies at 2 to 4 week intervals (than every 90-days or every 3-months, when medications are prescribed in the containers), and each time the new blister pack is given to the patient, is considered as a refill and full dispensing fee is charged either to the patient or to the insurer. The dispensing cost associated with re-filling the blister packs is a major cost factor than the cost of the actual medication, especially for common conditions where the agents often are generic. For example, the cost of a single 90-day prescription of metformin is $21.48 ($10.99 for the cost of drug + $10.49 the dispensing fee), and if the same medication is filled monthly, the cost is over 2-times at $44.01 ($4.10 x3 = $12.54 for cost of the drug + $31.47 (3 times the dispensing fee of $10.49 each)), and if the same prescriptio...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared. - Leadership on prescription drugs neededThe article by Michael Law et al. raises issues germane to both clinical practice and public policy. After hospitals, drugs comprise our second greatest national health expenditure.1 It is unsurprising that low income and chronically ill Canadians struggle to maintain medication adherence.Show More
The high cost of medications for people with chronic disease may also have effects beyond nonadherence. Patients have told me about sacrif...
Competing Interests: None declared.