Adherence

Through our work in the area of adherence, AstraZeneca is committed to working with healthcare professionals to encourage greater physician-patient dialogue about the importance of taking medicines as prescribed.

Lack of adherence to doctor-prescribed medications is a major public health issue in the United States.

• It may lead to adverse health outcomes and decreased quality of life.
• It may have economic impact as well. A study estimated that the overall cost to the U.S. economy in direct and indirect healthcare costs is $100 billion a year.1

A survey commissioned by the National Community Pharmacists Association found that nearly three out of four patients reported that they did not always take their medications as prescribed.

• 49 percent said they stop taking their medications because they forgot to take them.
• Nearly one-third never filled a prescription they were given by a physician.
• 24 percent reported taking less than the prescribed dosage.

Whatever the reason, the full efficacy benefits of a medication cannot be realized unless it is taken as prescribed.

AstraZeneca knows that every therapy is not right for every patient and that healthcare should not be a one-size-fits-all approach.  That is why we are committed to the concept of appropriate pharmaceutical care – the right drug, for the right patient, at the right time.

For example, AstraZeneca developed:

• The Health Personality Assessment™, a tool that helps us identify ways to support people based on their individual lifestyles and needs by uncovering a variety of factors that make up each patient’s health personality, such as the person’s information seeking habits, openness to medication, and adherence attitudes and behaviors.
• SERV™, a tool to encourage physicians to have more open discussions with their patients about medication, therapy and aspects of managing their health. This tool supports physicians to Screen for adherence, Engage in problem-solving, Review adherence at every visit, and Validate medication benefits with each patient.
• Tailored Interactive Patient Solutions (TIPS), a patient-tailored support service that helps patients at risk for lack of medication adherence. We are using this technology to emulate a personal counselor, providing one-on-one interactions/counseling that is based and individually tailored for each unique patient user.

With these programs, AstraZeneca is working with physicians and other healthcare professionals on ways to encourage physician-patient dialogue about the importance of taking medications – whether an AstraZeneca medication or another medication – as prescribed.

All members of the healthcare system - patients, healthcare professionals, payors, pharmacy benefit managers, and pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca – play key roles in ensuring patients receive appropriate care.

Adherence is a challenge for the patient, the physician, the caregiver, and the entire healthcare system. We believe it is important to raise awareness, implement new technologies and engage in a concerted effort to improve medication adherence because it benefits patients, healthcare providers and the healthcare system as a whole.

References
1.  Dezii CM. Medication noncompliance: what is the problem? Manag Care. 2000;9:7-12.