Specialty medications often have dispensing restrictions which can be dictated by manufacturer limited distribution strategies, narrow insurance networks, or a combination of both. Unfortunately, this may result in patients being required to use 2 or more pharmacies to fill their prescription medications; this is referred to as multiple pharmacy use (MPU). The investigators' plan is to administer a survey to patients who have been prescribed one or more specialty medications to evaluate the prevalence of MPU in this population as well as to investigate patients' attitudes about MPU and potential factors increasing the likelihood of MPU
The investigators will identify patients from participating member sites via a review of prescribing records for specific specialty medications. Patients will be contacted via telephone to explain the purpose and risk of the study. Consented patients will then be asked a series of 11 questions about their attitudes and experience with taking and obtaining their specialty medication(s). Additional demographic and clinical information about patients will be collected via chart review.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
401
Multiple Pharmacy Use Survey
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Percentage of Patients using Multiple Pharmacies
Of all patients consented, the percentage of patients using more than one pharmacy to obtain their medications
Time frame: Within one year of study initiation
Self-reported adherence and barriers
Patient response to questions about having missed doses in the past month
Time frame: Within one year of study initiation
Method of obtaining medications
Patient response to questions about distance from pharmacy and how prescriptions are primarily obtained
Time frame: Within one year of study initiation
Experience with obtaining and administering medications
Patient response to questions about how easy it is for patients to obtain and administer medication
Time frame: Within one year of study initiation
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