Medication adherence 1 month after hospital discharge in medical inpatients

Abstract

Non-adherence to prescription medications is suboptimal and consistent with previous overseas studies. Having a carer responsible for medications is associated with significantly lower rates of non-adherence. Understanding patients' preferences and involving them in their healthcare may reduce intentional non-adherence.

Medical student‐led patient education prior to hospital discharge improves 1‐month adherence rates

“…Interestingly, in our study, while comparing the patients’ characteristics between the two groups, the control group had significantly more carers helping with medication management. Additionally, having a carer responsible for administering medications was significantly associated with a better adherence rate in the control group . Foebel et al also found that presence of a caregiver at home significantly improves medication adherence for patients with heart failure and mild cognitive impairment .…”

“…Furthermore, medical student‐led intervention is unique. This study is an extension of a previous study, which revealed that 39.7% of patients were not adherent to their medications 1 month after discharge from hospital . The aim was to assess the effectiveness of introducing a pre‐discharge medication education session led by a medical student, which included providing a written take home daily medication plan to improve adherence rates.…”

“…This prospective interventional study compared medication adherence rates between patients who received the intervention and compared it to a study with similar demography, but without the intervention . A sample size of 81 patients (for each sample group) was determined in order to generate result with a desired power of 0.80, alpha level of 0.05 and an expected difference of adherence rate of 20%.…”

Using the trauma patient experience and evaluation of hospital discharge practices to inform practice change: A mixed methods study

“…Discharge letters provide general practitioners (GP) information about the patient's recent hospital admission, including investigations, results and the required follow‐up treatments and appointments; they are the most common form of communication between inpatient setting and outpatient care providers (Kripalani, Jackson, Schnipper, & Coleman, ). Trauma patients should be discharged home with the discharge letter, and instructions to visit their GP promptly after hospital discharge (Mitchell, Chong, & Lim, ). This practice ensures that the discharge letter is readily available at the first GP visit.…”

Medicines‐related harm in the elderly post‐hospital discharge

“…The rate of medication non-adherence globally has been consistently reported to be between 20% and 50%. 12 Non-adherence is one of the biggest obstacles in prescribing as it can negatively affect health outcomes, clinician-patient relationships and the health budget. It is commonly associated with newly prescribed medications to treat chronic conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes.…”