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By: Dra. Glorymar Santiago Alicea RPh, Pharm D
Adherence is defined as taking medications according to the instructions indicated by the doctor. Being adherent to treatment helps the patient improve their quality of life. Commitment, compliance, and persistence are vital in achieving adherence. The World Health Organization estimates that around 50% of patients do not take their medications properly. This costs society hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
There are several reasons patients are not adherent to their treatment, among which are: taking too many medications, not being able to pay the deductible costs, poor communication between the doctor and the patient, and lack of knowledge about their therapy. Studies show people will adhere to treatment better if they have a good relationship with their doctor and/or pharmacist. This indicates good communication is essential.
During a consultation, the doctor may find it difficult to identify barriers to medication adherence. What can the doctor do to minimize this? Use the acronym SIMPLE, which is very easy to remember. This means:
CMS annually measures adherence for three (3) categories of medications used in chronic conditions. These are: Adherence to cholesterol medications (Statins), Adherence to diabetes medications, and Adherence to hypertension medications (RAS antagonist).
At Provider Network Solution we have a Call Center that communicates with pharmacies to identify barriers in taking medications. Some of the most common barriers are prescriptions not being available at the patient’s pharmacy or patients are unable to pick up their medications. Due to these barriers, the Call Center contacts doctors with prescription requests and helps the patient change their medications to a pharmacy with home delivery service.
Health insurers such as MCS have pharmacies throughout the Island, hired to make home deliveries. These insurers have adherence programs that remind patients to repeat their medications. It is ideal to use these pharmacies with best practices in adhesion initiatives.
At Provider Network Solutions we encourage all our primary care providers to create strategies that identify barriers so that patients comply with their treatment. We believe that by working as a team we can provide better service to patients and ensure 5-Star care.
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