Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study
**Background:** Prescription drug insurance in Canada is constituted of a patchwork of public and private insurance plans. The type of drug insurance may have a negative impact on access to treatment for patients covered by public plans compared with private plans. **Objectives:** In patients with p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Columbia Data Analytics, LLC
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.36469/001c.127820 |
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| author | Laurence Mainville Hélène Veillette Paul R. Fortin |
| author_facet | Laurence Mainville Hélène Veillette Paul R. Fortin |
| author_sort | Laurence Mainville |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | **Background:** Prescription drug insurance in Canada is constituted of a patchwork of public and private insurance plans. The type of drug insurance may have a negative impact on access to treatment for patients covered by public plans compared with private plans.
**Objectives:** In patients with psoriasis treated with advanced therapy in public vs private drug insurance groups, we compared: (1) psoriasis severity scores when an advanced therapy was prescribed, (2) psoriasis severity scores at follow-up, (3) treatment response, and (4) delay between prescription and first dose of advanced therapy.
**Methods:** This unicentric, retrospective cohort study included patients suffering from psoriasis treated by advanced therapy, dermatologist-prescribed between September 2015 and August 2019, in a tertiary academic care center in Québec City, Canada. Data were collected from medical records.
**Results:** Patients treated with an advanced therapy for psoriasis covered under the provincial public drug insurance plan (n = 78) and under a private drug plan (n = 93) did not differ regarding the studied outcomes. Patients’ characteristics differed between groups. Patients in the public group were older (_P_ < .0001), more socioeconomically deprived (_P_ < .05), and more likely to benefit from compassion from the industry to access a prescribed medication free of charge (_P_ < .0001) compared with patients from the privately insured group.
**Discussion:** The high prevalence of compassionate programs from the industry in the public insurance group (42% vs 14%), and the high prevalence of psoriasis on difficult-to-treat areas (face, genitalia, and/or palmoplantar areas) in our cohort (85.4%) may mask differences in access to advanced therapy between the two groups.
**Conclusions:** Prescribers of advanced therapy can be reassured, as we found no inequality in access or care based on patients’ drug insurance coverage. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d909be5802cd4feaa169c92695f13ba4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2327-2236 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Columbia Data Analytics, LLC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-d909be5802cd4feaa169c92695f13ba42025-02-10T16:13:37ZengColumbia Data Analytics, LLCJournal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research2327-22362025-02-01121Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort StudyLaurence MainvilleHélène VeillettePaul R. Fortin**Background:** Prescription drug insurance in Canada is constituted of a patchwork of public and private insurance plans. The type of drug insurance may have a negative impact on access to treatment for patients covered by public plans compared with private plans. **Objectives:** In patients with psoriasis treated with advanced therapy in public vs private drug insurance groups, we compared: (1) psoriasis severity scores when an advanced therapy was prescribed, (2) psoriasis severity scores at follow-up, (3) treatment response, and (4) delay between prescription and first dose of advanced therapy. **Methods:** This unicentric, retrospective cohort study included patients suffering from psoriasis treated by advanced therapy, dermatologist-prescribed between September 2015 and August 2019, in a tertiary academic care center in Québec City, Canada. Data were collected from medical records. **Results:** Patients treated with an advanced therapy for psoriasis covered under the provincial public drug insurance plan (n = 78) and under a private drug plan (n = 93) did not differ regarding the studied outcomes. Patients’ characteristics differed between groups. Patients in the public group were older (_P_ < .0001), more socioeconomically deprived (_P_ < .05), and more likely to benefit from compassion from the industry to access a prescribed medication free of charge (_P_ < .0001) compared with patients from the privately insured group. **Discussion:** The high prevalence of compassionate programs from the industry in the public insurance group (42% vs 14%), and the high prevalence of psoriasis on difficult-to-treat areas (face, genitalia, and/or palmoplantar areas) in our cohort (85.4%) may mask differences in access to advanced therapy between the two groups. **Conclusions:** Prescribers of advanced therapy can be reassured, as we found no inequality in access or care based on patients’ drug insurance coverage.https://doi.org/10.36469/001c.127820 |
| spellingShingle | Laurence Mainville Hélène Veillette Paul R. Fortin Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research |
| title | Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_full | Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_fullStr | Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_short | Drug Insurance and Psoriasis Severity: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_sort | drug insurance and psoriasis severity a retrospective cohort study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.36469/001c.127820 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurencemainville druginsuranceandpsoriasisseverityaretrospectivecohortstudy AT heleneveillette druginsuranceandpsoriasisseverityaretrospectivecohortstudy AT paulrfortin druginsuranceandpsoriasisseverityaretrospectivecohortstudy |