Socioeconomic Status and the Use of Medicines in the Ontario Public Drug Program
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11969491 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sara Allin (0000-0002-0579-8985, University of Toronto, corresponding author), Audrey Laporte (0000-0002-5667-9206, University of Toronto) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 563-576 |
| Publication date | 2011-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0317-0861 • E-ISSN: 1911-9917 |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/cpp.37.4.563 |
| OpenAlex | W4232472393 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 27 |
Residents of Ontario aged 65 years and older are covered by a provincially funded prescription drug program. The aim of this paper is to assess the extent of inequity in prescription drug use for people eligible for Ontario Drug Benefit coverage, and to explore the different possible explanations for inequities. The analyses draw on the Canadian Community Health Survey from 2005, which is linked to pharmacy and Ontario Health Insurance Plan claims data. We model the number of therapeutically different prescription drugs and the total expenditures on medications on a set of health, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators, and we calculate the concentration index of income-related inequality in medicine use. The results show that low-income individuals who have enrolled in the reduced cost-sharing program on average use more medications than those with higher income, even after adjusting for a comprehensive set of health and demographic variables. While Ontario's public drug program appears to have ensured access to medications for low-income seniors, the results of this study raise concerns about the potential inappropriateness of medication use and point to a gap in drug policy in Ontario
Drug · Environmental health · Family medicine · Medical prescription · Population · Prescription drug · Public health · Socioeconomic status · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medication Adherence and Compliance · Medicine · Nursing · Gerontology · Pharmacy
Equity and Choice
Equity and equality in health and health care
Adherence to Medication
Inequalities in access to medical care by income in developed countries
What impact do prescription drug charges have on efficiency and equity? Evidence from high-income countries
Equity in Pharmaceutical Utilization in Ontario
Handbook of Health Economics
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,17 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2020 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |