Gordon: The costs of taking multiple medicines – ‘Doing without’ to afford medicines
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Gordon
Male
Age at interview: 73
Number of medicines: 13
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian
Like many people we spoke to, Gordon budgets carefully and limits other activities so as to afford his medicines.
Gordon:
I budget very heavily. I budget heavily on my food and transport, the whole works. And I think I'm an expert at budgeting. [laughs] And that's the only way I can do it. I've got to keep an eye on it and say, oh well, look I'm going to … that one there, for instance, there's only about two days left in that. So Thursday, I'm going to have to get one of those. And I think there's another one there. So that's $13 on Thursday, that's got to come out of my pay … out of my pension. And usually, I only have … after rent and bits and pieces are put away for different things … insurance and that, food … I'm pretty good with food. But I probably end up with maybe $25 in my pocket.
Jacqueline:
That's not a lot.
Gordon:
[Shakes head] It stops you from socialising.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.