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. 2011 Jul 20;26(12):1396–1402. doi: 10.1007/s11606-011-1805-7

Table 1.

Patient Characteristics by Pharmacy Type

Entire Sample (n = 100,298) Local KPNC Pharmacy Use Only (n = 71,019) Mail Order PharmacyUse (n = 29,279)
Demographics
Female (%) 51.8 50.7 54*
Age (Mean) 61 61 63*
 <40 (%) 3.9 4.4 2.6*
 40-49 (%) 14.3 15.5 11.2*
 50-59 (%) 28.4 28.8 27.3*
 60-69 (%) 26.3 25.0 29.4*
 70-79 (%) 19.1 18.5 20.5*
 80+ (%) 8.1 7.7 9.0*
Race/ethnicity
 White, non-Latino (%) 51.7 45.3 67.2*
 African American, non-Latino (%) 7.0 8.6 3.0*
 Latino (%) 8.0 9.5 4.4*
 Asian (%) 11.9 12.9 9.6*
 Native American (%) 0.5 0.5 0.3*
 Mixed-race (%) 3.7 4.1 2.8*
 Missing race (%) 17.2 19.1 12.8*
Mean home to local pharmacy distance in miles (SD) 8 (16) 8 (16) 9 (18)*
Block Group Census Variables
 Mean Household Income ($) $63,069 $61,363 $67,202*
 Percent in Poverty (%) 7.6 8.1 6.5*
 Percent with at Least a High School Education (%) 83.6 82.3 86.2*
 Percent with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree (%) 30.7 29.2 34.5*
Clinical Characteristics
 Mean LDL 12–6 months pre-statin (SD) 130 mg/dL (36) 130 mg/dL (36) 130 mg/dL (35)
 Mean LDL 6–0 months pre-statin (SD) 147 mg/dL (39) 147 mg/dL (39) 147 mg/dL (38)
 Mean number of comorbidities1 (SD) 0.66 (0.88) 0.66 (0.88) 0.66 (0.89)
 Has cardiovascular equivalents2 (%) 38.3 39.7 34.6*
 Using medication for depression (%) 21.9 20.9 24.4*
 Using nonformulary medication (%) 5.5 5.4 5.7
 New medication is brand-name (%) 3.5 3.3 4.1*
 Mean Number of Primary Care Visits in Year Prior to Index Date 4.08 (4.52) 4.15 (4.62) 3.92 (4.27)*
Medication Days Supply of 1st Refill
 1-30 days (%) 5.6 5.8 4.9*
 31-60 days (%) 3.0 3.0 2.8
 61-90 days (%) 14.8 15.3 13.7*
 >90 days (%) 76.7 75.9 78.6*
Total Medication Days Supply in the 15-Month Period Following the Index Date (Range = 1,525)
 Mean (SD) 398 (140) 374 (145) 456 (104)*
 Median 430 400 500
Total # of Refills in the 15-Month Period Following the Index Date (Range = 19)
 Mean (SD) 3 (2) 3 (2) 4 (1)*
 Median 4 3 4
Length of Follow-up, Index Date to Post-Period LDL Date (Range = 363)
 Mean (SD) 319 (98) 313 (101) 334 (90)*
 Median 339 332 353
Mean Statin Adherence in the 15 -Month Period Following the Index Date (SD) 77.2 (24.5) 72.9 (25.9) 87.8 (16.4)*
Mean Statin Adherence during Follow-up (SD) 80.6 (23.5) 76.7 (25.2) 90.0 (15.0)*
Insurance Characteristics
 Part D group coverage (%) 9.6 9.6 9.8
 Part D individual coverage (%) 11.2 9.4 15.4*
 Non-Medicare coverage (%) 79.2 81.1 74.8*
 Financial incentive for mail-order use (%) 21.8 18.3 30.4*

*Difference between mail order and local pharmacy use is statistically significant (p-value < 0.001)

1Comorbidities counted are atrial fibrillation, osteoarthritis, depression, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), renal failure/insufficiency, and smoking

2Dichotomous variable that equals one if patient has diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease (CAD), or stroke; equals zero otherwise