It is well-known that prescription drug coverage varies substantially across the provinces. We also know that lack of coverage, or partial coverage, can lead to adverse health effects.

However, while we know who has and who does not have coverage, surprisingly little is known about who purchases fewer drugs than prescribed and who not. This is because most surveys do not contain information on actual drug purchases compared to what has been prescribed by the physician. Previous research which did have such information lacked in terms of socio-demographic and regional information. I use the 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) which includes both information on non-adherence as well as detailed socio-demographic information and information about the region of residence.

In particular, I aim to answer the following questions:

1. Which men and women are at particular risk of purchasing fewer drugs than prescribed?

2. Are there differences between provinces? Are these differences large enough to matter?

3. Are the same people at risk in each province, or are the risk groups different across the country?

Since drug prescriptions rise as people grow older, I pay special attention to those aged 50 and above, and to life-cycle changes in non-adherence.