Characteristics of online pharmacy users in a nationally representative sample

Objective: To identify health care-related factors associated with online pharmacy use by considering patients' prescription drug insurance coverage, number of prescriptions, health care expenditures, types of medications purchased, and health status. Methods: Data were obtained from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's 2002-2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Online pharmacy users were compared with nonusers across study variables in unadjusted and adjusted comparisons using logistic regression. Survey weights were applied to generate nationally representative estimates. Results: A total of 443 online pharmacy users were identified, representing an average of 1.5 million individuals per year. Online users were found to be older and to have more prescriptions compared with nonusers, as well as to have higher health care expenditures and higher Charlson comorbidity index scores. Online users were also more likely to be privately insured, white, and married, and to be more educated. In logistic regression models, higher prescription expenditures (odds ratio [OR] 1.17 [1.05-1.32]), higher number of prescriptions (OR 5.13 [1.4-19]), medium to high income (OR 1.82 (1.3-2.5)], and use of erectile dysfunction drugs (OR 2.09 [1.06-4.10]) were associated with greater odds of online pharmacy use. Black race (OR 0.47 [0.3-0.72]), Medicaid insurance coverage (OR 0.23 [0.1-0.5]), and use of narcotic medications (OR 0.72 [0.53-0.97]) were associated with decreased odds of online pharmacy use. Conclusion: This study showed that age, race, income level, insurance coverage, high health care expenditures, and higher number of prescriptions are predictors for online pharmacy use.