Professor Department of Pharmacy Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysore-570 015. India Mysuru, India
Background: The geriatric population is at increased risk for developing chronic diseases that may require prolonged and multi-drug therapy. Evaluating medication adherence levels and patient-reported factors related to adherence can provide insights into a patient's perspectives and aid in the creation of effective strategies to improve adherence.
Objectives: To assess the impact of virtual patient education on medication adherence.
Methods: A 6-month observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital to examine medication adherence in geriatric patients with chronic conditions. The study enrolled all eligible patients of any gender who were taking at least one medication. Demographic, medical, and medication information was collected. The level of medication adherence was measured using the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) questionnaire. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: the test group received patient education, while the control group did not. The impact of pharmacist-assisted patient counselling on medication adherence was evaluated by readministering the MARS questionnaire at day 30 and day 60 post-discharge. The data was then analyzed and presented as n (%) statistics.
Results: The study interviewed 401 eligible patients using the MARS questionnaire. Majority of participants were male (58.36%) and belonged to the age group of 60-70 years (58.10%). Out of 401 subjects, 220 (54.86%) were found to be adherent to their medication regimen, while 181 (45.13%) were non-adherent. Virtual patient counselling showed a significant improvement in medication adherence, with 113 (28.1%) patients becoming more adherent compared to 177 (46.4%) in the control group. After the second follow-up, the proportion of patients with good adherence (adherence score ≥ 6) increased by 18.23% in the test group and only 3.48% in the control group.
Conclusions: The study results demonstrated that a virtual follow-up, and patient education can effectively improve medication adherence among geriatric patients. Furthermore, clinical pharmacists can play a crucial role in enhancing medication adherence.
