'Multifaceted Strategies' can Improve Medication Adherence Among Patients

Drug Store News
September 1, 2010

Improving medication adherence will require bringing multiple methods together in order to be successful, Pharmacy Quality Alliance senior director for research and performance measurement David Nau said Tuesday in an education session at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Pharmacy and Technology Conference in San Diego...

According to last year’s study by the New England Healthcare Institute, poor medication adherence increases medical costs by up to $290 billion. The estimated one-third of patients who do not take their medications properly fail to do so for a number of reasons, which Nau boiled down to five social-economic, patient-related, therapy-related, condition-related and healthcare system-related factors, including costs of medications, fear of side effects and dependence, complexity of regimens, comorbidities and lack of incentives.

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