Drug Compliance — A Study of Patient Behavior Based on Medical Records

Luckman, Roger; Weisbuch, Jonathan B.; Taubman, Albert H.; King, James W.; Little, Forbes; French, David M.

doi:10.1177/106002807901300301

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…A critical first step to studying medication adherence is assessing whether the patient filled the prescription. While most studies have focused on adult patients, 2 studies included children and found that prescriptions for medications for chronic illnesses 3 and for younger patients 4 were more likely to be filled.…”

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confidence: 99%

Medication Adherence Among Adolescents in a School‐Based Health Center

Mears¹,

Charlebois²,

Holl³

2006

Journal of School Health

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School-based health centers are an integral part of the health care delivery system for low-income children. Medication adherence for these patients may be challenging because the student is often responsible for bringing home the prescription and receiving the instructions. This study assesses medication fill, initiation, and adherence rates among adolescents in a school-based health center to identify major barriers to medication compliance. Students enrolled in a school-based health center, >or=10 years old, able to read and write English, and whose parent had provided consent for participation, were eligible for the study. Eligible students who received a prescription from the health center were invited to return to the clinic a week later to complete a questionnaire (with verbal assent). Primary outcome measures included medication fill rates, medication initiation rates, medication adherence rates, and reasons for nonadherence. Eighty-one students completed the questionnaire: 45 students (55.6%) filled their prescription. Of the students who filled their prescriptions, 75.6% reported always taking their medication at the appropriate time, 22.2% reported sometimes forgetting to take their medication, and 2.2% reported never taking the medication. However, many discrepancies were found between reported medication-taking behavior and the instructions provided to the student. Medication fill, initiation, and adherence rates among students receiving prescriptions for medications in school-based health centers are suboptimal. Interventions that address key identified barriers need to be developed and evaluated in order to achieve optimal fill and adherence rates.

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confidence: 99%

Medication Adherence Among Adolescents in a School‐Based Health Center

Mears¹,

Charlebois²,

Holl³

2006

Journal of School Health

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“…This study examines level I compliance (Luckman et al, 1979) for patients in the dispensed group but not necessarily for those in the prescription group. However, Widmer has contended that level I compliance implies level 11 compliance because patients would not continue to purchase medications (either by returning for dispensed drugs or by refilling prescriptions) unless they were taking them (Widmer, Cadoret, & Troughton, 1983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The filling of a prescription has been referred to as level I compliance and the actual taking of the medication as level I1 compliance (Luckman et al, 1979). Prescriptions for acute medications, ease of access to a pharmacy, and frequent doctor-patient interaction tend to increase compliance (Luckman,et al, 1979). For the patient on chronic medication, physician dispensing should provide both easy access and increased interaction and, therefore, should foster compliance.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Effect of Physician Dispensing on Visit Compliance and Blood Pressure Control in a Rural Family Practice Clinic*

Lawborne¹

1989

The Journal of Rural Health

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Physician dispensing of drugs is making a comeback in the United States. Critics charge that physician dispensing for profit represents a conflict of interest and removes the normal checks and balances that exist when a physician writes a prescription later filled by a pharmacist. Proponents justify dispensing because it is more convenient for patients, because it assures that patients will receive the brand name ordered, and because it improves compliance. This retrospective chart review examines visit compliance and blood pressure control in a cohort of treated hypertensive adults attending a family practice clinic where patients were given the choice of either physician‐dispensed drugs or prescriptions. Over an 18 month period 61 of 77 patients (79%) in the dispensed group met criteria for visit compliance, compared with 22 of 45 patients (49%) in the prescription group (P<0.001, chi‐square). Sixty‐five of 77 patients (84%) in the dispensed group achieved adequate blood pressure control as did 36 of 45 patients (80%) in the prescription group. Patients were equally distributed between the dispensed and the prescription groups with respect to age, sex, and antihypertensive regimen. The study implies that physician dispensing improves one measure of patient compliance but that the improvement in compliance may not necessarily improve outcome. This discrepancy between compliance and outcome is not an unusual finding in the compliance literature. Prospective studies are needed to elucidate the effect of dispensing on patient satisfaction, patient care, and medical costs.

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“…Student's two‐tailed t ‐test was used for analysis of continuous numerical variables. The χ 2 test was used for analysis of categorical variables.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compliance has been subclassified into: primary compliance, the filling of prescriptions; and secondary compliance, the taking of prescribed medication obtained 2 . Paediatric patients depend on a carer to fill the prescription and to administer medication.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%