Free meds for a year Hawke's Bay residents: How you can be part of study

Otago University research fellow Kim Cousins recruiting for prescriptions study Freemeds. Photo / Doug Laing

Hawke's Bay people are being offered free prescriptions for a year to test how much cost is affecting people's ability to get their medication.

Free Meds Healthier Communities is a study funded by Health Research Council and Pharmac, using researchers from Otago and Victoria universities and Gisborne provider Turanga Health.

It will target people who are taking medicine for Type 2 diabetes or anti-psychotic medication.

They're recruiting 2000 people aged 18 and over, half of whom, chosen at random from the volunteers, will get their prescriptions for free for a year from February 1. The other half will still pay their usual costs, but they will get a $100 supermarket voucher at the end of it, and may get funding support from other sources if they wish.

Research fellow Kim Cousins was in Hawke's Bay last week speaking with pharmacists and others in the health industry and said the purpose will be to establish whether free medicines reduce people's use of hospital services and improve their health and wellbeing.

"This information will help healthcare providers decide who should have to pay to get their medicines," she said.

"The background is that a lot of people don't take their meds, a lot of prescriptions go uncollected," she said.

"But also cost is a big barrier to people accessing regular treatment.

"It is really important that people take their meds, it keeps them well, but they've got to take them regularly."

She said the $5 per prescription might not seem a lot to a lot of people, but it can add up for people with ongoing problems.

People interested in taking part can email freemeds@otago.ac.nz or phone 0800 531400.