Cost-Related Barriers to Medication Adherence in Uveitis Patients Enrolled in NIH's All of Us Program.

Abstract

Background and objective: To investigate cost-related barriers to medication adherence in patients with uveitis.

Methods: Non-interventional, retrospective study. The study examined the responses to cost-related medication adherence questions of 879 patients with uveitis who were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program database. To be eligible for inclusion, patients were required to have successfully completed at least one self-reported survey. Logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the relationship between race/ethnicity and medication adherence, controlling for relevant covariates.

Results: Patients with an annual income of less than $75 000 were significantly more likely than those with an income above $150 000 to report difficulty affording medication, delaying filling prescriptions, skipping doses, taking less medication, and exploring alternative therapies to save money. Patients aged 60 years and above were more likely to report difficulty affording medication, as were those without health insurance.

Conclusion: This study revealed that income and age are barriers to medication adherence. These findings have important implications for health care providers and policymakers, who should consider strategies to address these cost-related barriers to medication adherence.