Characteristics of Recipients of Free Prescription Drug Samples

A Nationally Representative Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID11022141
AuthorsSarah L Cutrona (0000-0002-4795-8377, All of the authors are with the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass, and the Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.), Steffie Woolhandler (0000-0002-8965-1058, All of the authors are with the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass, and the Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.), Karen E Lasser (0000-0003-3777-6075, All of the authors are with the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass, and the Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.), David H Bor (All of the authors are with the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass, and the Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.), Danny Mccormick (All of the authors are with the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass, and the Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.), David U Himmelstein (0000-0002-2394-4915, All of the authors are with the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass, and the Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.)
Year2008
Volume98
Issue2
Pages284-289
Publication date2008-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2007.114249
PMID18172135
PMCIDPMC2376889
OpenAlexW2172295317
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited16

Objectives. Free prescription drug samples are used widely in the United States. We sought to examine characteristics of free drug sample recipients nationwide. Methods. We analyzed data on 32681 US residents from the 2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a nationally representative survey. Results. In 2003, 12% of Americans received at least 1 free sample. A higher proportion of persons who had continuous health insurance received a free sample (12.9%) than did persons who were uninsured for part or all of the year (9.9%; P Conclusions. Poor and uninsured Americans are less likely than wealthy or insured Americans to receive free drug samples. Our findings suggest that free drug samples serve as a marketing tool, not as a safety net

Drug · Environmental health · Family medicine · Medical prescription · Sociology · Demography · Medication Adherence and Compliance · Medicine · Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy · Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare · Pharmacology

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