Prof Pauline Norris, from the University of Otago Centre for Pacific Health, is urging people to sign up for a new study she hopes will help improve New Zealand’s prescription payment system.
And Prof Norris is keen to attract eligible participants from Oamaru and Timaru for the national study, which includes some small towns throughout the country, many of them in the North Island.
Through the Free Meds Study, participants would receive free prescriptions for a year, or a $100 grocery voucher at the end of the study.
New Zealand prescription charges for subsidised medicines were low, at $5 for each prescription, but many people with serious illnesses could not afford the fees, for which there were no income-based exemptions, she said.
‘‘It seems like $5 is not very much but if you’re talking of spending multiples of $5, if you get 10 medicines that’s $50 all at once.’’
When combined with the cost of a visit to the doctor, it was hard for many low-income patients to cope, and many delayed picking up their medications, thereby putting their health at risk.
Previous Otago research showed that sole parents, Maori and Pacific and those who were more materially deprived were among the worst affected.
People with diabetes, taking antipsychotic medications, or with COPD/emphysema were eligible to enrol in the study.
Half the participants will receive free prescriptions for a year, and the other half will receive a $100 grocery voucher at the end of the study.
About 1500 participants from particular regions throughout the country are needed to sign up before January 31 for the study to go ahead.
The intention of the prescription scheme was good — to limit the amount people would have to pay over a year. It had led to a Catch-22 situation where people who could not afford to pay for their medications had to wait longer to get funding relief.
Most people were also unaware they were eligible for a Prescription Subsidy Card if they paid for more than 20 prescriptions a year.
Otago researchers hope the planned study will provide immediate benefit by helping people pay for their medicines, but also a long-term benefit in providing evidence about the impact of prescription charges.
People could use free phone number 0800531-400 to check whether or not they were eligible to participate.
