(1288) Comparison of Medication Adherence to Inhaled Corticosteroid and Long-acting Beta-agonist in Pediatric Asthma Patients with and Without Insurance in Central Texas

Objectives: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4.6 million children under 18 have asthma in the United States, with 2.1 million under 11 years old. The 2023 GINA guidelines recommend using inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting bronchodilators (LABA) for controller therapy in ages 6-11. A study in Alabama researched the outcomes of patients enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), their utilization of asthma-related medication, and the outcome. Results showed a reduction of more than 5 percent in hospital visits and hospitalization in children enrolled in this program. Specifically, this is due to an increase in medication adherence. However, little is known about the adherence to inhaled, maintenance medications in uninsured pediatric patients. The hypothesis is that patients without insurance experience lower adherence rates as measured through prescription claims data. By analyzing this data, we aim to identify recommendations for new interventions to increase adherence to inhaled medications in this population. The objective of this study is to compare adherence in pediatric asthma patients who are insured versus pediatric asthma patients who are uninsured in the central Texas area.

Methods: This study will be a retrospective cohort study utilizing prescription claims data from 2020 until 2022 in a regional supermarket pharmacy chain in Texas. Prescription data will be stratified by payment and categorized as those using prescription insurance and those not using prescription insurance, including discount cards or cash pay claims. Data will also be stratified by cost and categorized as claims <$30, $30-$60 and >$60. The primary endpoint will be medication adherence as reported by the proportion of days covered (PDC). The secondary endpoint will be to determine trends in adherence based on cost. Outcomes will be measured using descriptive and inferential statistics for appropriate study variables.

Results: Pending Results

Conclusions: Pending Conclusions