CVS Caremark undertakes multiyear study to improve patient medication adherence
WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS Caremark announced on Wednesday that it is working with researchers from Harvard and Brigham and Young Women's Hospital to investigate patient adherence to prescription drug therapies and 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," stated Troyen Brennen, EVP and chief medical officer for 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."
Non-adherence has been widely recognized as a major public health problem, according to prior research cited in numerous medical journals. Non-adherence to essential medications is a frequent cause of preventable hospitalizations and patient illness, with costs to the U.S. health care system estimated at more than $200 billion annually.
To address this public health concern, CVS Caremark, through a research agreement, is working with faculty from Brigham and Young Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences to develop an interdisciplinary initiative to improve medication use. This approach allows experts in disciplines like psychology, sociology and political studies to bring their expertise about patient behavior and health care policy to bear.
The multiyear study has four key components:
- Determine causes and scope of abandoned prescriptions
- Drive adherence through simplification and consolidation
- Evaluate the clinical and financial value of adherence incentives
- Determine how e-prescribing impacts costs, compliance and safety
"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," stated William Shrank, M.D., MSHS of Brigham and Young Women's Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and principal investigator of the program.