Patient compliance
Patient compliance is "voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen."[1] Improving compliance may improve health.[2]
Patient compliance is a component of health behavior.
Prevalence and epidemiology
Many people have difficulty with taking all the medications that they have been prescribed.[3] Among patients who have to take numerous drugs for their health (polypharmacy), not taking all of their medications may lead to poorer health outcomes.[4]
23% of patients report skipping doses or cutting pills in half to make their supply last longer according to one survey.[5] This is more common among low-income patients.
In a study of compliance over one year with medications for hypertension[6]
- Half of the patients stopped taking a medicine completely (non-persistence)
- 43% of patients took drug holidays in which they did not take a medication for three days or more (non-execution)
Patients are more likely to abandon prescriptions that are expensive.[7]
How to detect noncompliance
A systematic review by the Rational Clinical Examination concluded that missing appointment, not improving with treatment, and counting pills are the best methods to detect non-compliance.[3]
Methods to improve compliance
| Doses per day | % of days in compliance[7] |
|---|---|
| One | 84 |
| Two | 75 |
| Three | 59 |
Medications that are taken less often per day may be easier to comply with.[7][8] Fixed-dose combination drugs can help.[9][10] Similarly, polypharmacy should be avoided.
References
- ↑ Anonymous (2024), Patient compliance (English). Medical Subject Headings. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- ↑ Wu JY, Leung WY, Chang S, et al (2006). "Effectiveness of telephone counselling by a pharmacist in reducing mortality in patients receiving polypharmacy: randomised controlled trial". BMJ 333 (7567): 522. DOI:10.1136/bmj.38905.447118.2F. PMID 16916809. Research Blogging.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stephenson BJ, Rowe BH, Haynes RB, Macharia WM, Leon G (1993). "The rational clinical examination. Is this patient taking the treatment as prescribed?". JAMA 269 (21): 2779–81. PMID 8492406. [e]
Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "pmid8492406" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Simpson SH, Eurich DT, Majumdar SR, et al (2006). "A meta-analysis of the association between adherence to drug therapy and mortality". BMJ 333 (7557): 15. DOI:10.1136/bmj.38875.675486.55. PMID 16790458. Research Blogging.
- ↑ USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Survey: the public on prescription drugs and pharmaceutical companies - kaiser family foundation. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr030408pkg.cfm.
- ↑ Vrijens B, Vincze G, Kristanto P, Urquhart J, Burnier M. Adherence to prescribed antihypertensive drug treatments: longitudinal study of electronically compiled dosing histories. BMJ. 2008 May 17;336(7653):1114-7. Epub 2008 May 14. PMID 18480115
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Shrank WH, Choudhry NK, Fischer MA, Avorn J, Powell M, Schneeweiss S et al. (2010). "The epidemiology of prescriptions abandoned at the pharmacy.". Ann Intern Med 153 (10): 633-40. DOI:10.1059/0003-4819-153-10-201011160-00005. PMID 21079218. Research Blogging.
- ↑ Treharne GJ, Lyons AC, Kitas GD (2005). "Adherence to medication". N. Engl. J. Med. 353 (18): 1972-4; author reply 1972-4. PMID 16270428. [e]
- ↑ Pan F, Chernew ME, Fendrick AM (May 2008). "Impact of fixed-dose combination drugs on adherence to prescription medications". J Gen Intern Med 23 (5): 611–4. DOI:10.1007/s11606-008-0544-x. PMID 18288541. Research Blogging.
- ↑ Gerbino PP, Shoheiber O (June 2007). "Adherence patterns among patients treated with fixed-dose combination versus separate antihypertensive agents". Am J Health Syst Pharm 64 (12): 1279–83. DOI:10.2146/ajhp060434. PMID 17563050. Research Blogging.