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Table 3 Managing the financial burden of medications

From: Understanding barriers to and strategies for medication adherence in COPD: a qualitative study

Themes

Illustrative quotes

Medication misuse

I was taking one puff maybe in the morning and maybe a couple days later I would take another puff … And the reason I was doing that was because—like a whole lot of other people who don't take their medicine right—the cost of the medication. 84F

Outsourcing

I needed these medicines. And I couldn't afford them, so I ordered them from Canada…I understood there was a chance that there still could be something foul in them, but I took the chance. I couldn't afford them otherwise. 70M

Collaboration with care providers to circumvent cost challenges

I found out that instead of costing me 47 a month for the rest of the year, it's going to cost me about 150 because I'm in [retirement?] home. In fact, I was calling the doctor today to have her to put me back on [XX] because it's cheaper. 72F

I discuss it with my doctors. And sometimes they say, "Well, unfortunately, things are what they are and we really can't change them…" But they, I mean, they're sympathetic, but. And sometimes I'll ask, "Is there one I can get that isn't as expensive?" 80F

My doctor gives me an awful lot of samples of this, and that helps me a great deal. 79F

Cost savings strategies

I wrote to [inhaler company] and I contacted them because I was in a donut hole. And they gave me a year free. 72F

I paid dearly for my medicine so I didn't want to just stop … He changed my medicine next week, and I just got 30 days supply. I would finish my 30 days supply because otherwise I'm throwing my money out the window. 59F

At a certain age, I realized that I needed a secondary health plan…to go along with my Medicare and my Medicaid, I needed a helper. 69F