The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Crisis: Implications on Antidepressant Access for Low-Income Americans

TL;DR

This study analyzes how pharmacy pricing caps impact antidepressant access for low-income Americans, revealing systemic inequalities and emphasizing the need for policy reforms to improve affordability and access.

Contribution

It provides a bibliometric analysis of literature on antidepressant pricing and access, highlighting inequalities and systemic barriers faced by marginalized communities.

Findings

High drug prices reduce antidepressant initiation and compliance.

Systemic racial and ethnic disparities in access to antidepressants.

Literature gaps demand policy action for affordability.

Abstract

Depression affects more than 280 million people worldwide, with poorer communities having disproportionate burden as well as barriers to treatment. This study examines the role of pharmacy pricing caps in access to antidepressants among poorer Americans through bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited articles on antidepressant pricing and access in the Web of Science Core Collection. We used tools like Bibliometrix and VOSviewer to visualize publication trends, dominant contributors, thematic clusters, and citation networks in the literature. Findings highlight intransigent inequalities in access to antidepressants based on astronomically high drug pricing as well as systemic inequalities against racial and ethnic minorities in particular. Branded antidepressant high prices are associated with low initiation of therapy as well as regimen compliance, heightened mental illness outcomes, as well as increased health utilization. This work uncovers critical gaps in the literature and demands immediate policy action to make antidepressants affordable as well as appropriately accessible to marginalized communities.