19% Higher Risk Of Medication Non-Adherence If The Physician Communicates Poorly

This was just one of the really great data points I got from the Medication Adherence Clinical Reference page from the American College of Preventative Medicine.  It’s worth a read.  

But, let me highlight a few other points:

• Non-adherence is thought to account for 30-50% of treatment failures.
• Trust and communication are critical factors in adherence.

I think this is important because a lot of the industry solutions focus on the pharmacy and the consumer.  They don’t (IMHO) go back to the initial discussion with the provider.  How are we helping to enable those conversations to last longer than 99 seconds in the average encounter in which time they have to explain the medication, the side effects, and help the patient feel like the medication is going to make a difference?  (Of course, this always make me think of my favorite placebo effect video.)

Additionally, this chart from the Adult Meducation publication was a great list of factors reported to impact adherence.  (Sources: Miller et al., 1997; Nichols-English and Poirier, 2000; Vermiere et al., 2001; World Health Organization, 2003; Krueger et al., 2005; Osterberg and Blaschke, 2005)

They also share this chart (which I’ve seen a version of many times):

[Source: National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Pharmacies: Improving Health, Reducing Costs, July 2010. Based on IMS Health data]