Coalition urges Congress to tackle drug adherence
WASHINGTON —The campaign by pharmacy and healthcare advocates to boost Americans’ abysmal medication compliance rate gained new voltage in mid-November with a direct and urgent appeal to every member of Congress by a broad coalition of 27 large-scale healthcare organizations.
Among the groups calling for legislation to attack the noncompliance crisis were the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the American Pharmacists Association and the Food Marketing Institute. Those organizations—along with 23 others—cosigned a letter delivered to all members of the House and Senate Nov. 17.
Also participating were the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, the American Academy of Nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, the National Consumers League and the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America, among other groups and corporations. Together, they painted a stark picture of the costs of medication nonadherence, both in terms of the physical toll it takes on patients and the financial drain it places on the U.S. economy.
Pointing out that “one-third to one-half of patients in the United States do not take their medications as prescribed,” the coalition appealed to lawmakers to tackle the stubborn problem of patient noncompliance in health-reform proposals advancing in Congress at press time. The goal: to include measures to address the problem in whatever bill emerges from the ongoing debate over health reform.
Such measures are “critical to achieving improved healthcare quality and value,” the coalition noted. “Costs resulting from nonadherence may be as high as $100 to $300 billion annually,” the coalition told members of Congress. “Research also shows that many patients face multiple barriers to taking their medications as directed.”
“As such, addressing the problem will require multifaceted strategies and involve a diverse group of stakeholders,” the letter continued. “Doing so is a win-win…better health outcomes for patients and cost savings.”
The coalition urged lawmakers to incorporate five recommendations in legislation to improve patient adherence levels. They include:
An explicit recognition of the “critical” importance of medication adherence and “appropriate medication use” in any legislation to improve health care and clinical outcomes;
Language to encourage greater coordination among all health providers “to engage the patient and other caregivers in developing and executing the care plan” for patients, particularly in light of the important role that medications play in treating and managing illnesses;
Provisions to foster the rapid adoption of health information technology, to “improve the flow of timely and complete information between patients and providers, and enable providers and payers to identify and address gaps in patients’ medication use;”
New programs to educate and engage patients in their own drug regimens, and “to help them better understand their conditions and treatments. These efforts also must support providers in effectively communicating the importance of following treatment plans, and in providing medication support services to patients and caregivers;” and
Funding additional research on drug adherence, “including a focus on the effectiveness of a wider range of interventions to improve adherence, as well as an analysis of the diverse factors, behaviors, costs and consequences related to poor adherence.”