Appointment-Based Models and Medication Synchronization: Silver Bullet for Adherence or One Piece of the Puzzle?

The impact of appointment-based medication synchronization on medication taking behaviour and health outcomes: A systematic review

“…Naturally, the ABM fosters a long‐term relationship between the patient and pharmacy staff and provides the opportunity for dialogue regarding questions the patient may have, outside of the typical pharmacy environment. The ABM also provides a patient‐centred service that may serve as an entryway for additional advanced patient services . Efficiencies gained in work flow and improved inventory control, benefits of medication synchronization reported by some programmes, may be reallocated to allow pharmacists to engage in activities beyond dispensation.…”

“…Efficiencies gained in work flow and improved inventory control, benefits of medication synchronization reported by some programmes, may be reallocated to allow pharmacists to engage in activities beyond dispensation. Such activities may include more consistent monthly and personalized interaction with the patient to strengthen the connectedness between a patient and their pharmacy staff and begin to address the dynamic and multifactorial causes of non‐adherence . Adherence management can subsequently provide opportunities for pharmacists to identify and resolve other drug therapy problems, in the context of MTM.…”

“…The ABM also provides a patient-centred service that may serve as an entryway for additional advanced patient services. 5,16,17 Efficiencies gained in work flow and improved inventory control, benefits of medication synchronization reported by some programmes, 18 may be reallocated to allow pharmacists to engage in activities beyond dispensation. Such activities may include more consistent monthly and personalized interaction with the patient to strengthen the connectedness between a patient and their pharmacy staff and begin to address the dynamic and multifactorial causes of non-adherence.…”

“…Such activities may include more consistent monthly and personalized interaction with the patient to strengthen the connectedness between a patient and their pharmacy staff and begin to address the dynamic and multifactorial causes of non-adherence. 16 Adherence management can subsequently provide opportunities for pharmacists to identify and resolve other drug therapy problems, in the context of MTM. Although non-adherence itself is considered a medication-related problem, starting with this level of patient service may serve as a means to identify those who could benefit from more rigorous medication therapy reviews and disease state management.…”

Community Pharmacist Attitudes on Medication Synchronization Programs

“…[12][13][14] A limitation of these analyses of secondary data, however, is the potential for residual confounding, particularly due patient self-selection into the medication synchronization program through their voluntary sign-up, possibly resulting in greater tendency toward adherence than their matched counterparts who perhaps are not as committed to their regimen and therefore would not want to be locked into a rigid refill structure. 9,15 One study of medication synchronization without a clinical component found patients that voluntary signed up for synchronization already had high levels of adherence and only improved their rates slightly after participating in the program. 16 The authors suggested such patients would have been unlikely to benefit from the additional counseling component of the appointment based model.…”