Seniors in U.S. Emergency Depts Often Can't Afford Medicines

A study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found seniors who come to U.S. emergency departments often cannot afford drugs, reports Physician's Weekly . Ninety-nine percent of study participants 65 and older had some kind of health insurance, but 14 percent of urban participants and 26 percent of rural participants said they did not always adhere to doctors' instructions for taking medications due to costs. Seniors with high out-of-pocket costs for medicine are especially vulnerable, and less likely to purchase prescribed drugs or use them properly. Pharmacy discount programs, spending less on staples like food and heat, borrowing money, skipping doses of drugs to save money, higher credit card debt, and asking a relative to buy medications are some of the common methods seniors are using to pay for drugs. Both urban and rural subjects who had difficulty paying for medicine were more likely to be taking multiple drugs, have been hospitalized recently, have trouble with daily living activities, suffer from depression or dementia, and lack social support. The researchers cited the value of social workers in helping seniors access drugs at reduced cost.