Impact of prescription charges on people living in poverty: A qualitative study.

Background: Prescription charges or copayments have been shown to reduce consumption of medicines. For people living in poverty, prescription charges can prevent them from getting the medicines they need, and this can result in poorer health status. Prescription charges are low in New Zealand compared to many other countries, but those living in poverty are not exempt from fees.

Poverty, medicines and health care: It's the little things….

Small patient charges and policies and events that may seem minor to health care professionals can have a big impact on the wellbeing of people living in poverty. Despite good intentions, policies can have unintended consequences for those who are struggling to access health care.

Community pharmacists' perceptions of services that benefit older people in New Zealand.

Background: There is limited information in New Zealand about community pharmacists' perceptions of services that benefit older people.

Objectives: To explore the perceptions of community pharmacists' of services that benefit older people; the benefits perceived; and the experiences of pharmacists providing such services.

Setting: Community pharmacies in New Zealand.

Recruitment and retention of primary care patients into a research study investigating medication adherence.

Introduction: General practitioners (GPs) and patients are key sources of information for investigating primary health care. However, recruiting these into health care studies has been reported to be difficult.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the recruitment and retention rates of GP practices and patients into a research project in the primary health care setting.

Ripple-like intraocular lens damage from a neodymium:YAG laser.

We report a case of accidental intraocular lens (IOL) damage during a neodymium:YAG laser capsulotomy. After a single pulse of 0.9 mJ of laser energy, a large area of ripple-like opacity with more than 10 concentric circles surrounding a small hole in a 2.