Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27878679›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of health economics and management2015

The financial burden of out of pocket prescription drug expenses in Canada.

Sam Caldbick, Xiaojing Wu, Tom Lynch, Naser Al-Khatib, Mustafa Andkhoie, Marwa Farag

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of health economics and management, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Universal Pharmacare in Canada: A Prescription for Equity in Healthcare.International journal of health policy and management · 2020
    Article
  5. Assessing progressivity and catastrophic effect of out-of-pocket payments for healthcare in Canada: 2010-2015.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2019
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Sam CaldbickSchool of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada.
Xiaojing WuSchool of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada.
Tom LynchSchool of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada.
Naser Al-KhatibSchool of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada.
Mustafa AndkhoieSchool of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada.
Marwa FaragSchool of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E5, Canada. marwa.farag@usask.ca.
University of Saskatchewan · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pharmaceutical expenditures account for approximately 15.9 % of total health expenditures in Canada. Unlike hospital and physician services, in which costs are universally covered, most pharmacological therapy does not fall under the umbrella of 'medically necessary' services set out by the Canada Health Act, and therefore is funded through a mix of public and private plans. Little is known about the actual financial burden experienced by Canadians from out-of-pocket drug expenditures (OOPDE). This paper examines the burden of OOPDE in Canada. 1.1 % of Canadian households exceed our catastrophic threshold (9 %) of the drug budget share. Additionally, 2.6 and 8.2 % of households exceed lower thresholds of 6 and 3 % respectively. We find an inverse relationship between household income and the burden of OPPDE. Low-income households have the highest likelihood of being in the 'catastrophic' drug expenditure category. This finding suggests that a vulnerable population of 'working poor' are likely to be experiencing disproportionate financial burden because they are not eligible for public assistance programs. Seniors experience the highest burden of OPPDE when compared to other age groups. We also find that there is significant interprovincial variation in the burden of OOPDE, which partly reflects different provincial government drug coverage policies.

Indexed as

Burden of out of pocket expensesDrug expensesProvincial differences in drug policies in Canada

Identifiers

PMID27878679
OpenAlexW2028882903

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.