News in brief - Aug. 22/29, 2005

Teen access to alcohol begins at home - Patients who trust their doctors are more likely to take their meds - Adult vaccine access expanded

Teen access to alcohol begins at home

Nearly half of teenagers have been able to obtain alcohol, and many of them get it from their parents, according to two polls by the AMA in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In the survey of some 700 teens, a third said it was easy to get alcohol from their homes. A quarter had been at parties where teens drank in front of their parents, and a quarter were supplied alcohol by their parents.

Another survey of several thousand parents found a quarter believed that teens should be able to drink at home with a parent present.

"From a public health standpoint, these findings are frankly disturbing," said AMA President J. Edward Hill, MD.

Patients who trust their doctors are more likely to take their meds

Those on expensive medications are more likely to stick to their regimens -- despite the cost -- if they trust their physicians, according to a study published in the August Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, surveyed 912 diabetic patients receiving care from five Veterans Affairs health systems. Patients with higher out-of-pocket costs were more likely to forgo spending money on prescription drugs when trust in their doctors was low. Depression also was associated with lower levels of medication adherence related to cost.

Authors of the paper suggest that addressing these factors could reduce barriers to medication adherence related to finances.

"We need to understand better how chronically ill patients cope with their drug costs," said John Piette, PhD, lead author and associate professor of general medicine. "We know that cost alone makes a big difference to people, but it's not the only factor."

Adult vaccine access expanded

Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would establish a Vaccines for Adults program modeled on the Vaccines for Children program that has provided, since 1994, free immunizations for uninsured and Medicaid-eligible children at physician offices.

The bill was introduced July 28 by Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D, Calif.). Sherrod Brown (D, Ohio), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D, Calif.). "There is no preventive measure more potent or more cost-effective than vaccination," Brown said.

More than 45,000 adults die each year from vaccine preventable diseases, Roybal-Allard said. "We must do a better job reaching and protecting the approximately 40% of adults at risk for infectious diseases who are underimmunized."

The proposed law also would authorize a "buy-back" program for unsold flu vaccine as an incentive for increased production; increase funding for states to strengthen their vaccine outreach, tracking and delivery; and require vaccine manufacturers to provide advance warning to public health officials before exiting the vaccine market.