ABSTRACT
Background: Non-adherence to prescribed medication regimens is an increasingly growing problem, with rates ranging from 40% to 94%. Medication non-adherence leads to increase in morbidity and mortality as well as an increase in healthcare costs. There is a need to improve medication adherence through various interventions that are both implementable and feasible for clinicians. For this purpose, it is essential to understand the perceptions of clinicians regarding the frequency and effectiveness of current practices. Hence, this study is conducted with the core aim of identifying current interventions in use to improve medication adherence as well as perceived effectiveness. In addition, we aim to identify the potential barriers to improving medication adherence. Aims and Objectives: (1) To identify commonly used intervention strategies to improve medication adherence and (2) to assess potential effectiveness of these strategies. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 100 clinicians at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Twenty questions about interventions to improve medication adherence and twenty-three questions about barriers to improving medication adherence were included in the questionnaire. Likert scales were used to measure the frequency and effectiveness of interventions. Results: Clinicians (64%) were most commonly identified as currently responsible to conduct interventions. Intervention practices were rated at about 4.71 on a scale of 1 to 10. Strategy most commonly in use all the time included direct education to the patient (69%), whereas electronic reminders (57%) and electronic monitoring (63%) were most commonly identified as not at all in use. Strategies most commonly considered as largely effective included giving written treatment plans to the patient. Most common identified barriers included socioeconomic status of patients (57%) and cost of therapy (57%). Conclusion: The identification of commonly used interventions to improve medication adherence and their perceived effectiveness helps health-care practitioners design better strategies to address non adherence.