Cost considerations of dermatological care in Jordan: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background

Physicians play a key role in improving patient adherence, specifically in dermatological care. Expensive medications are associated with poor patient adherence and worsening clinical outcomes. This study aims to explore the cost estimation interest of patients with dermatological conditions, the influence of the cost on their drug use behavior, and cost communication practices by dermatologists.

Method

A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2019 and January 2020 in Jordan. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the predictors of patient behavior.

Results

A total of 1,022 patients participated in the study. Around 27.7% of them reported that their dermatologist does not discuss the cost of medications with them. About 71.4% reported that it is important for them to receive cost estimates for out of pocket medication costs. Patients with an income of 300 JD to 700 JD were more likely to be interested in cost estimations. Employed patients and males were less likely to be interested in cost estimations (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

There is a considerable proportion of dermatologists who do not adhere to communicate about cost with their patients. Such communication should be considered necessary with all patients to enhance adherence to their prescribed therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Adherence
• communication
• cost
• dermatology
• Jordan

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to all the participants who made this research possible.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewers disclosure

A reviewer on this manuscript has disclosed receiving research, speaking and/or consulting support from a variety of companies including Galderma, GSK/Stiefel, Almirall, Alvotech, Leo Pharma, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Mylan, Celgene, Pfizer, Ortho Dermatology, Abbvie, Samsung, Janssen, Lilly, Menlo, Merck, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi, Novan, Qurient, National Biological Corporation, Caremark, Advance Medical, Sun Pharma, Helsinn, Arena, Forte, Informa, UpToDate and National Psoriasis Foundation. They also consult for others through Guidepoint Global, Gerson Lehrman and other consulting organizations. They are the founder and majority owner of www.DrScore.com, and the founder and part owner of Causa Research, a company dedicated to enhancing patients’ adherence to treatment. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose

Author contributions

AN: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data curation, validation, writing the original draft, writing–review and editing, project administration, and funding acquisition. G.R.A: data collection. D.A, H.A, E.Z.D, and F.E: interpretation, writing the original draft, and writing–review and editing. AN: resources and supervision. All authors agreed to be accountable for the content of the work.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.