Abstract
The authors conducted a telephone survey of 200 patients who had recently transferred their health care to a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. Of the study patients, 56% considered prescription drug costs to be the main reason or a major contributing reason for transfer (95% confidence interval 49% to 63%). The mean out-of-pocket prescription drug cost for these patients was $139 per month, compared with $47 per month for patients for whom drug costs were a minor reason or not a reason at all (p<0.001). Drug costs are a principal reason for patients to transfer their health care to the VA.
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Received from the Department of Medicine, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Lederle, F.A., Parenti, C.M. Prescription drug costs as a reason for changing physicians. J Gen Intern Med 9, 162–163 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02600034
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02600034