Determining the difference in medication compliance between the general patient population and patients receiving antihypertensive therapy: A case study

Abstract

This study addressed the issue of medication compliance in general, compliance with antihypertensive therapy, and the relationship between these two groups. In addition to determining the reasons for noncompliance with therapy prescription, the aim of this study was to also establish whether it was considered feasible by the patients to comply with their physician's instructions and whether the patients believed that the prescribed therapy was beneficial to their health. Hypertensive patients were compared to the total study population according to age groups. The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey with the use of a 33-item self-administered questionnaire. The study included 635 individuals who were collecting or buying drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases, with special reference to subjects taking antihypertensive agents (n = 361). More than half (n = 361; 56.9%) of the 635 study subjects were on therapy for arterial hypertension and possibly for some other diseases. The great majority of study subjects reported forgetfulness as the main reason for skipping drug doses. Comparison between the total study population and the subjects treated for arterial hypertension according to age groups (compliant, noncompliant and all together) yielded no statistically significant difference. We concluded that there was no difference in medication compliance between the general patient population and patients receiving antihypertensive therapy and there was no correlation between medication compliance and age.

Pharmacy claims data as a tool to measure adherence

“…In our study non-adherent subjects prevailed over adherent (64.0%) which is a slightly higher rate than that found in our previous study, where adherence was based on patient self-report (58.3%) 7 . A similar difference is found in non-adherence to cardiovascular and antihypertensive therapy in both studies (63.1 vs. 60.7%).…”

Patients’ Adherence to Prescribed Medication

“…In addition to the positive therapeutic effect, different side effects are associated with drug use. However, in our research it has been shown that persistent patients have statistically significantly fewer overall health problems than the unreliable ones 8 . It is important to warn the patient about any possible side effects, such as, for example, orthostatic hypotension in some antihypertensive agents, so as not to be disappointed with the effect of the drug and give up the prescribed medication.…”

“…For example, despite the existence of highly effective antihypertensive drugs, some studies show that only 30% of patients in the United States achieve adequate blood pressure control 1 . In Zagreb, according to our research, it is somewhere below 40% 8 . Well-known high-risk complications of unregulated blood pressure are: 3-4 times greater chance of ischemic heart disease, and 3 times greater incidence of stroke 4 .…”

3Ps-Pharmacist, Physician and Patient: Proposal for Joint Cooperation to Increase Adherence to Medication

“…Forgetfulness is the most common reasons for not adhering to drug treatment (26). The key question is: Why do people forget?…”