Struggling to afford medicines: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of participants in the FreeMeds study

Leinasei Isno; Pauline Norris; Marianna Churchward

doi:10.1071/HC23156

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Struggling to afford medicines: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of participants in the FreeMeds study

Leinasei Isno ¹ , Pauline Norris

¹ ^* , Marianna Churchward ²

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

¹ Va’a o Tautai – Centre for Pacific Health, University of Otago, Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.

² Health Services Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.

^* Correspondence to: pauline.norris@otago.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Felicity Goodyear-Smith

Journal of Primary Health Care 16(4) 341-346 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC23156

Submitted: 24 November 2023 Accepted: 20 March 2024 Published: 6 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Introduction

Existing research has established that some people struggle with prescription charges. This paper reports on the experiences of a sub-sample of people who participated in the FreeMeds study (a randomised controlled trial of prescription charges) about their problems paying for medicines.

Aim

The aim of this study was to explore participants’ previous experiences with paying for medicines, and the impact of receiving free medicines through the Free Meds study.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 23 people (21 were available for analysis), purposefully selected from the 1061 participants in the FreeMeds trial. Trial participants had to live in an area of high socio-economic deprivation (NZDep 7–10), either take medicines for diabetes and/or take anti-psychotics and/or have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Transcripts were analysed thematically.

Results

Prior to being enrolled in the study, prescription charges were an important issue for many of the participants, who faced multiple health challenges. Some reported having to go without medicines until they could afford them, and many reported having to make hard choices, such as choosing which of their medicines to pick up, or choosing between medicines and other expenses like food. Echoing the quantitative results from the trial, some participants reported previous hospitalisations because of their inability to pay for and hence take, their medicines. Few participants had discussed the affordability of medicines with their doctor. Participants reported that being exempted (through the FreeMeds trial) had reduced their stress and allowed them to afford medicines they would normally have gone without.

Discussion

The study supports the government’s decision to eliminate prescription charges, to remove one barrier to health and wellbeing for people facing significant disadvantages.

Keywords: Prescription co-payments, qualitative, poverty.

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