A recent survey conducted by Consumer Reports has found that more people in the United States ignored their physician’s recommendations and skipped medical procedures or medication in an effort to save money on healthcare or prescription costs.
photo credit: Steve Snodgrass
48 percent of Americans reported that they choose not to fill prescriptions, took less medicine than their high cost prescription medication or passed on a medical test recommended by their doctor.
According to the survey, 48 percent of the consumers polled who take at least one medication said they didn’t fill their prescriptions, took less medicine than the prescribed dose or failed to undergo a medical test recommended by their doctor. That is 9 percent higher than the 49 percent reported in 2010 by the annual survey.
The survey of adults also found that one in six American households and one in four with incomes less than $50,000 told Consumer Reports that they felt stress over how much they must spend on healthcare and prescription costs.
Additional answers from the survey show that many healthcare professionals do not realize that so many of their patients are having trouble paying for drugs or medical care. The responses show that only 5 percent of Americans found out about prescription costs at the doctor’s office, while 64 percent were told of prescription costs by their pharmacists.
The survey found that the use of generic prescription medications increased to 75 percent of the prescriptions filled, compared to 73 percent in 2010. Despite this increase, 39 percent of the Americans who responded said they didn’t know that generic medications meet the same federal standards on safety and effectiveness and contain the same active ingredient as their brand-name counterpart. More than 40 percent also said their doctors only sometimes or never recommended a generic medication though these prescription costs may be lower for their patients.
The role played by pharmaceutical companies’ advertising in medication decisions is evident in the responses given – 18 percent of those surveyed said they asked their doctor to prescribe a drug they saw advertised. Of those patients, 70 percent said their doctor then wrote the prescription for the medication.
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