(P-134) Cost Considerations of Dermatological Care in Jordan: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Every physician should be aware of and should communicate the cost of recommended treatments or procedures to his/her patients. Moreover, physicians’ failure to understand these costs is associated with poor patient adherence and worsening clinical outcomes.

Objectives: To explore the cost estimation interest of adult patients with dermatology conditions, the influence of the cost on their drug use behaviour, and cost communication practices by dermatologists.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2019 and January 2020 in Jordan. A previously developed questionnaire was used to explore the study objectives. The questionnaire tool asked the participants who have received dermatological care in the past three months to participate. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the predictors of patient behaviour.

Results: A total of 1,022 patients participated in the study. More than half of them were females (n= 551, 53.9%) and aged between 18 and 29 years (n= 600, 58.9%). Around 27.7% of the patients reported that their dermatologist does not discuss the cost of medications with them. About 71.4% of the patients 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). Patients with a high income (700 JD or more), widowed, and married patients were significantly less likely to be affected by the cost of medications.

Conclusions: Despite the importance of dermatologists communicating the cost of prescribed medications and procedures to their patients, still there is a considerable proportion who do not adhere to this practice. Such communication should be considered necessary with all patients to enhance their primary adherence to their prescribed therapy.