Table 4.
Strategies to Ensure Access to Prescribed Medications, as Reported by Survey Respondents with Hepatitis C Virus in Halifax, 2008
| Survey Statement | No. (%) of Respondents* |
|---|---|
| Strategies to access medications, household income < $30 000 | n = 19 |
| I consider the price of a medicine before I buy it without a prescription | 14 (74) |
| I get a prescription, if it’s covered, because buying the over-the-counter medications is too expensive | 12 (63) |
| If I cannot afford an expensive over-the-counter product I ask for something else cheaper at the drug store/pharmacy | 11 (58) |
| Strategies involving physician or nurse practitioner | n = 50 |
| I ask my doctor or nurse practitioner to prescribe a longer supply of my medicine to help me when I haven’t got enough money | 9 (18) |
| If I can’t afford my prescription I ask my doctor or nurse practitioner to recommend something cheaper to buy without a prescription | 12 (24) |
| I ask the doctor or nurse practitioner for a free “sample” of medicine to save me having to pay for it on prescription | 15 (30) |
| Self-initiated strategies to ensure access to nonprescription or over-the-counter medications | n = 50 |
| I get a prescription, if it is covered, because buying an over-the-counter remedy tends to be too expensive | 22 (44) |
| If I can’t afford my prescription I ask the pharmacist to recommend something cheaper to buy | 7 (14) |
| I consider the price of a medicine before I buy it without a prescription | 26 (52) |
| I prefer to buy something from the pharmacist/drug store in order to avoid going to see a doctor or nurse practitioner | 7 (14) |
| If I cannot afford an expensive over-the-counter product I ask for something else cheaper at the drug store/pharmacy | 17 (34) |
*
Data represent the sum of responses for “always”, “often”, and “sometimes”.