CVS Caremark and researchers from Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital are launching a study to investigate patient adherence to prescription drug therapies. One of the four key components of the study will look at how electronic prescribing impacts compliance.
The study will use an interdisciplinary approach, bringing disciplines like psychology, sociology and political studies together to share expertise on patient behavior and healthcare policy. Results from the study will be used to develop programs that healthcare providers and pharmacies can use to improve medication adherence.
"As the nation looks for ways to reduce healthcare spending, we need to improve patient compliance with prescribed drug therapies," said Troyen A. Brennan, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer, CVS Caremark. "Many reasons have been discussed for patient non-adherence, including cost, forgetfulness, confusion when taking multiple medications, and problems with renewing a prescription. This research, which will be available not only to CVS affiliates but to all pharmacies, will help doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and health plans design programs to help patients stay on their prescribed medication treatments."
Researchers will look at e-prescribing to determine how it impacts costs, compliance and safety. Researchers say this is especially important as Medicare has launched an initiative to drive electronic prescriptions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will pay physicians approximately $3,500 in annual financial incentives for e-prescribing and will impose penalties on those who do not e-prescribe by 2012.
"This research will help us understand the reasons why patients do not take their medications as prescribed. We will use this information to develop effective, evidence-based approaches to improve prescription adherence," said William Shrank, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and principal investigator of the program. "We'll strive to better understand barriers to adherence that range from patient characteristics (e.g. income or marital status); patients' attitudes about their condition and the importance of medicine; understanding how to take medications appropriately; the impact of complex therapy; and, the trust and communication between the patient, the physician and the pharmacist. We hope this research will help us create strategies to promote wellness in our patients. "
