Medication Adherence - Health Care Compliance

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Why is medication adherence important?

Timely and accurate knowledge of medication adherence are critical for informing clinical decisions about the need for dose escalation, regimen changes, or interventions to address adherence behavior.

What is treatment adherence?

The current definition of treatment adherence, as given by the WHO, is “the extent to which a person’s behavior- taking medication, following a diet, and/or executing lifestyle changes- corresponds with the agreed recommendations from a healthcare provider” [ 1 ].

What does adherence mean in medical terms?

Adherence (compliance) is the degree to which a patient follows a treatment regimen. For drugs, adherence requires that the prescription be obtained promptly and the drug be taken as prescribed in terms of dose, dosing interval, duration of treatment, and any additional special instructions (eg, taking the drug without food).

What is medication adherence behavior?

Medication adherence behavior has thus been divided into 2 main concepts, namely, adherence and persistence. Although conceptually similar, adherence refers to the intensity of drug use during the duration of therapy, whereas persistence refers to the overall duration of drug therapy. 3,4

What is medication adherence?

Medication adherence, otherwise known as medication compliance, is a successor to treatment recommendations. Therefore, it can be defined as the “act or extent of conforming to a provider recommendation/prescription based on timing, dosage, and frequency of medication use” [ 1 ].

How can healthcare providers improve medication adherence?

For better medication adherence, healthcare providers need to pay more attention to patients’ thoughts and concerns and have more time to listen to their experience in relation to the disease. Patients highly value trust-based relationships with healthcare providers.

Why is medication adherence not conclusive?

However, for most factors, the evidence was not conclusive due to the risk of bias, inconsistency or imprecision. Medication adherence can be defined as the extent to which a patient’s behaviour corresponds with the prescribed medication dosing regime, including time, dosing and interval of medication intake [ 1, 2 ].

What causes adherence to medication?

Causes include misunderstanding or forgetfulness, and factors beyond the patient’s control such as an inability to access prescribed treatment. Multiple studies have shown that treatment complexity, cognitive impairment, cost and other practical difficulties (e.g. opening medicine bottles or difficulty swallowing pills) may reduce adherence. 1

What Is Medication Adherence

1. https://www.ausmed.com.au/learn/articles/medication-adherence
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33030359/
3. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.768986
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6510353/
5. https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-019-1014-8
6. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/medication-information/medication-adherence-taking-your-meds-as-directed
7. https://www.verywellhealth.com/medication-adherence-5225223
8. https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/clinical-pharmacology/factors-affecting-response-to-drugs/adherence-to-a-drug-regimen

Medication Adherence Information

1. https://www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/medication-adherence-factsheet
2. https://australianprescriber.tg.org.au/articles/encouraging-adherence-to-long-term-medication.html
3. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6645a2.htm