Pharmacoequity in Allergy-Immunology: Disparities in Access to Medications for Allergic Diseases and Proposed Solutions in the United States and Globally

Pharmacoequity is the principle that individuals should have access to high quality medications regardless of race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or availability of resources. In this paper, we summarize the access to therapeutics for allergic diseases in the US and other selected countries. We focus on domains of healthcare access (health insurance coverage, medication availability, and specialist access); and system-level factors, clinician- and patient-level factors, such as interpersonal racism, and cultural beliefs, and how they can affect timely access to appropriate therapy for allergic diseases. Finally, we propose how pharmacoequity in allergy-immunology can be achieved by highlighting solutions to the factors limiting access to medications for allergic diseases and identify potential future research directions.