Abstracts

Rationale: All states place some restrictions on driving for individuals with epilepsy. Many patients are unable to drive and depend on alternate forms of transportation. These individuals have limited access to services, including pharmacy. Difficulty in getting prescription refills due to limited transportation might result in poor medication compliance. A survey was developed to determine if limited transportation impacts compliance with medications due to inability to get prescription refills.Methods: A 22 item survey was created in Zoomerang. From February 5-April 13, 2007, an invitation to participate in the survey was placed on the front page of Epilepsy.com, with a link to the survey site. Patients or caregivers who were ≥19 years old were eligible to participate. Data for patients and caregivers were collected and analyzed separately.Results: A total of 126 completed surveys, 86 from patients, 24 from caregivers, and 16 from individuals <19 years old were received. Ages ranged from 19 to >71 years old. 77% of respondents were women. 36% of participants said they did not drive and depend on other forms of transportation. 74% indicated they have insurance coverage for medications. Of these, 56% had coverage for mail order pharmacies and only 53% with mail order coverage used it. Only 23% indicated they had seizures due to inability to get prescription refills on time. However, 41% said they had trouble getting their prescription refills due to transportation problems and 39% indicated they would miss fewer doses of medication if transportation to the pharmacy was not a problem. When cross tabulated with use of mail order pharmacies, there was no difference between those who use mail order and those who do not. Problems with transportation and getting to the pharmacy were common with individuals living in both urban and rural communities.Conclusions: Preliminary evidence from this survey indicates patients with epilepsy have problems with medication compliance due to transportation limitations. Limited transportation appears to affect medical care in addition to other aspects of lifestyle. Further study into this problem is warranted with a goal of finding effective solutions.