October, 2013
A study by Levine, et al. found that transportation barriers were associated with not being able to afford medications, emphasizing that those with low incomes are often the hardest hit by all barriers, including transportation.
October, 2013
Tierney, et al. examined the relationship between transportation policy and health care utilization in a cohort study of 46,722 Medicaid patients, and found that restriction of Medicaid payments for transportation resulted in decreased medication refills.
October, 2013
A review of 61 studies finds that transportation barriers are an important barrier to healthcare access, particularly for those with lower incomes or the under- or uninsured.
March, 2013
In a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation physician survey, 85 percent of primary care physicians agreed that “unmet social needs—things like access to nutritious food, reliable transportation, and adequate housing—are leading directly to worse health for all Americans.” This rate increased to 95 percent among physicians serving patients in low-income urban communities.
February, 2013
Lack of access to a vehicle was associated with the underuse of chemotherapy. Even in non-rural populations, transportation barriers are associated with the underuse of chemotherapy. Given the effectiveness of modern chemotherapy for palliation and prolonged survival, patients without reliable transportation may not have lived as long as those with reliable transportation.