Free Drug Samples- For Kids!

"Free prescription drug samples distributed to children may be unsafe, according to a study by physicians from Cambridge Health Alliance and Hasbro Children's Hospital. The national study, the first to look at free drug sample use among children, appears in the October 2008 issue of Pediatrics.

The authors, who also serve as researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, found that children commonly receive free drug samples from their doctors. One out of every 20 American children received free drug samples in 2004. Among children who took at least one prescription drug in that year, nearly one in 10 got free samples.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration identified significant new safety concerns for four of the top 15 most frequently distributed samples in 2004. These four medications acquired new black box warnings or had significant revisions to existing black box warnings issued since 2004. In addition, two of the top 15 sample medications given to children were schedule II controlled substances (drugs controlled and monitored by the Drug Enforcement Agency due to high potential for abuse). Distribution of these medications, Strattera (atomoxetine) and Adderall (amphetamine/dextroamphetamine), carries risk, especially when drug sample closets in physician's offices (or home medicine cabinets) are not strictly monitored.

Although some physicians support the use of free drug samples as a way of getting medications to indigent patients, lead author Dr. Sarah Cutrona and colleagues found that few free samples in their study go to needy children. More than 80 percent of children receiving samples were insured all year. Conversely, approximately 16 percent were uninsured for all or part of 2004, and less than one-third had low family incomes (under $38,000 for a family of four). Minority children were less likely to receive free samples than white non-Hispanic children, and free sample receipt was positively associated with markers reflecting access to health care. The authors concluded that free sample distribution does not equalize medication access for needy children."


Um, wtf?