Publication:
Initial medication non-adherence: prevalence and predictive factors in a cohort of 1.6 million primary care patients.

No Thumbnail Available

Date

2017-02-24

Authors

Aznar-Lou, Ignacio
Fernández, Ana
Gil-Girbau, Montserrat
Fajó-Pascual, Marta
Moreno-Peral, Patricia
Peñarrubia-María, María Teresa
Serrano-Blanco, Antoni
Sánchez-Niubó, Albert
March-Pujol, María Antonia
Jové, Anna Maria

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Metrics
Google Scholar
Export

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Abstract

Adherence to medicines is vital in treating diseases. Initial medication non-adherence (IMNA) - defined as not obtaining a medication the first time it is prescribed - has been poorly explored. Previous studies show IMNA rates between 6 and 28% in primary care (PC). The aims of this study were to determine prevalence and predictive factors of IMNA in the most prescribed and expensive pharmacotherapeutic groups in the Catalan health system. This is a retrospective, register-based cohort study which linked the Catalan PC System (Spain) prescription and invoicing databases. Medication was considered non-initiated when it was not collected from the pharmacy by the end of the month following the one in which it was prescribed. IMNA prevalence was calculated using July 2013-June 2014 prescription data. Predictive factors related to patients, general practitioners and PC centres were identified through multilevel logistic regression analyses. Missing data were attributed using simple imputation. Some 1.6 million patients with 2.9 million prescriptions were included in the study sample. Total IMNA prevalence was 17.6% of prescriptions. The highest IMNA rate was observed in anilides (22.6%) and the lowest in angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (7.4%). Predictors of IMNA are younger age, American nationality, having a pain-related or mental disorder and being treated by a substitute/resident general practitioner in a resident-training centre. The rate of IMNA is high when all medications are taken into account. Attempts to strengthen trust in resident general practitioners and improve motivation to initiate a needed medication in the general young and older immigrant population should be addressed in Catalan PC.

Description

MeSH Terms

Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cohort Studies
Drug Prescriptions
Female
Forecasting
General Practitioners
Humans
Male
Medication Adherence
Mental Disorders
Middle Aged
Pain
Prevalence
Primary Health Care
Registries
Retrospective Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
Spain
Treatment Outcome

DeCS Terms

CIE Terms

Keywords

adherence, big data, clinical pharmacology, pharmacoepidemiology, primary care

Citation