Pharmacoequity and the Management of Acute & Chronic Diseases

Stethoscope with pills scattered around.

According to the 2024 Milliman Medical Index, on average, individuals in the US spend more than $1100 per capita annually out of pocket on health care, but this spending is inequitably distributed. Based on reports by Zhang et al. (2025), Wu et al. (2025) and the Commonwealth Fund (2021, 2024), racial and ethnic minority populations, who disproportionately experience higher prevalence and greater severity of chronic diseases, are more likely not to have sufficient insurance or lack insurance completely. As a result, Black individuals and Hispanic individuals often report the highest rates of cost-related delays in care and lower access to high-quality medication therapy. Given the important and growing role of prescription drugs in the management of both acute and chronic diseases, ensuring that all individuals have access to the highest-quality medications required to manage their health needs is paramount and referred to as pharmacoequity. Our team identifies gaps in health care treatment to achieve pharmacoequity. 

Publications

  1. A Policy Prescription for Reducing Health Disparities—Achieving Pharmacoequity
  2. Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Inequities in Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Use Among Patients With Diabetes in the US
  3. Variation by Race in Antibiotics Prescribed for Hospitalized Patients With Skin and Soft Tissue Infections
  4. Beyond Detecting and Understanding Disparities in Novel Diabetes Treatment: Need for a Major Shift in Pharmacoequity Research
  5. Association of Prescription Co-payment With Adherence to Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor Therapies in Patients With Heart Failure and Diabetes
  6. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of ERBB2-Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer, 2010-2020