An ABMS program in a community pharmacy setting was associated with higher rates of adherence and persistence for patients who had been taking chronic medications for at least 6 months. Approximately 18 to 35 additional ABMS participants were adherent for every 100 patients enrolled when compared with usual care. For every 100 patients receiving usual care, 17 to 40 additional patients in the ABMS group were persistent. This study shows that ABMS programs can improve medication adherence and persistence for patients who are newly prescribed or currently taking chronic medications.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were (1) to determine the change in patients' knowledge about their disease and treatment; (2) to assess the percent change in values of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and change in blood pressure in mmHg; and (3) to evaluate adherence status, measured through pill counts. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted using patients with a diagnosis of both T2DM and hypertension at Arauco hospital in Arauco, Chile. Each patient participated in three interviews over a period of six months. The study incorporated a tailored pharmacotherapeutic intervention plan that included written and oral information regarding pathologies and pharmacological treatment. To determine treatment adherence, a pill count method was performed during each interview. Change in patient adherence and knowledge of the diseases and treatments was assessed using the Fisher exact test. The difference in HbA1c and blood pressure between the initial and final sessions was evaluated using Student's t-test. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 17. RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were selected, of whom 33 (66%) were female. At the beginning of the program, 30% of patients were found to be adherent. At the end of the study, this number had increased to 46% (p-value: 0.099). 10% of patients had full knowledge of their disease at baseline. At the end of the study, this number had increased to 66% (p-value < 0.001). After the completion of the interviews, significant decreases were observed for HbA1c (p-value < 0.001), and systolic blood pressure (p-value < 0.001). Stratified by sex, stronger and more significant decreases were observed for females in terms of both HbA1c (0.63%, p-value= 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (17 mmHg, p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A pharmacotherapeutic optimization plan based on improved patient adherence and knowledge and implemented for patients with chronic conditions, such as T2DM and hypertension, has had a positive impact on therapeutic outcomes.

Potential long-term health effects from tobacco products can be estimated by measuring changes in biochemical indicators of disease mechanisms like inflammation. This study assesses the potential relationships between biomarkers of potential harm (BOPH) and biomarkers of cigarette smoke exposure (BOE) based on data from the NHANES (2007-2012, n = 17,293 respondents). Statistically significant relationships were observed between white blood cells (WBC) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and BOE; between WBC and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and smoking status; and between WBC and HDL and smoking intensity. This analysis suggests that WBC and HDL are useful BOPH in studies assessing the health risks of cigarette smoking.

Objective: Assess the newspaper coverage of off-label drug use from the years 1990 to 2010.Methods: News articles from the top six selling national newspapers were studied. Variables of interest were the number of articles published, article themes, headline and content tone, concerns and benefits discussed with offlabel use, drugs discussed, and primary individuals interviewed for the article.Results: The number of articles published on off-label drug and device use steadily increased over the period of the study. The key themes discussed in these articles were concerns over safety and efficacy (45.8%) and benefits of off-label prescribing (25.9%). The overall tone of the articles was often negative toward offlabel use (40.4% of articles).Conclusion: Overall, the tone and coverage of off-label medication and device usage was more negative than positive, focusing more on concerns than on benefits. Nevertheless, there did not appear to be any impartial or systematic media bias against the practice. Content Analysis of Off-label Drug Use: Reporting Print Media Coverage d r u g i n f o r m a t i o n 787 i n t r o d u C t i o n

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Lupus nephritis (LN) is a severe complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). While LN has no designated ICD-9 code, various approaches have been used to identify patients in administrative data. The objective was to compare health resource utilization of LN patients using different algorithms in a single data source. METHODS: This study used the Impact Database, a commercial insurance claims database. SLE patients were identified using ICD-9 code 710.0 from ≥2 outpatient or 1 inpatient claims from 01/2004 to 06/2011. SLE patients with LN were further identified under four different algorithms: (A) ≥1 renal diagnosis, (B) ≥2 renal diagnoses, (C) ≥3 renal diagnoses, and (D) ≥3 renal diagnoses plus ≥3 nephrologist visits. Health resource utilization and expenditure of outpatient/emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and prescriptions were examined for 12 months post index date of first renal diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 93,957 patients were diagnosed with SLE.