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PO:12:331 Tailored support and transportation: improving access to care for patients with lupus through transportation assistance and pharmacy education

lupusscimed · 2026-03-01 · canonical JSON source

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Objectives Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects women of childbearing age, disproportionately impacting minoritized racial and ethnic populations, who experience greater morbidity and mortality from the disease. Lupus health disparities are exacerbated by social determinants of health (SDOH), such as limited health literacy, insufficient health care access, and lack of social support. Our project seeks to mitigate healthcare barriers by enhancing transportation support to lupus-related appointments and providing tailored, patient-centered pharmacist counseling to increase patient understanding of timely and routine treatment of lupus.Methods Patients with lupus were identified through the Carolina Data Warehouse for Health, an electronic health record (EHR) data repository of patients who have been admitted to the University of North Carolina (UNC) healthcare system. Project personnel pre-screened patients scheduled for outpatient visits at UNC’s Rheumatology, Nephrology, and Lupus Specialty Clinics. Eligible patients were sent an online enrollment survey assessing demographic characteristics, barriers to healthcare access, and related SDOH. Participants were contacted to offer transportation support and pharmacist counseling, based on their individual needs and preferences.Results To date, a total of 17 patients have enrolled. In the enrollment survey, nine patients (53%) indicated a lack of transportation had delayed access to medical care within the past twelve months. Among these, 5 patients (56%) lacked documentation in their EHR of unmet transportation needs. Twelve (71%) patients self-reported that there had been at least one day they had missed at least one dose of their lupus medication within the past month. Among the 17 respondents, the average number of days with missed doses was 4.5 (SD = 4.9 days). Pharmacist counseling was extended to 14 participants and transportation support was provided to 14 patients via an e-gift card and to 1 patient through direct ride coordination via Uber Health.Conclusions This work highlights the impact of barriers to healthcare faced by patients with lupus, particularly with medication adherence and transportation challenges. Our findings emphasize the need for patient-centered supportive services that are grounded in consistent dialogue with patients about the barriers they face in managing and improving their health and accessing care.