The Complex Issues, Opportunities for Pharmacists in Addressing Medication Adherence

Through a lack of awareness as well as access and cost challenges, medication adherence has been a struggle for many patients across the globe, leading to 50% of the population not taking their medications how they were prescribed. However, with their ability to stand out as experts on medication counseling, pharmacists’ approaches in engaging patients and their prescription regimens opens the door for correcting medication nonadherence.

“It's very easy to understand, if you have an issue where there's pain, you take a pain medication, it relieves the pain. It's not that difficult to understand the value of taking that medication, or an antibiotic to treat an infection,” Andrew Maiorini, PharmD, FAHM, vice president of clinical programs at PerformRx, told Drug Topics. “But things like hypertension, for example, there's not that immediate feedback that the medication is providing any benefit. Having those conversations and explaining the long-term impacts of dealing with certain disease states, like hypertension, and empowering that member to really understand the value to their health, that really helps reinforce that importance of taking those medications.”

In the most recent episode of Over the Counter, we sat down with Maiorini to discuss his company’s patient-driven approaches for addressing medication nonadherence in US communities. And with an amplified presence in their respective communities, he explained why pharmacists have the ability to truly tap into patient challenges and address them head-on with simple yet powerful conversations.

“[Medication nonadherence is] a very varied, nuanced problem,” continued Maiorini. “I think as therapeutic regimens get a little more complex, as they get more expensive even, we're going to still see these same struggles occurring as we move forward.”

Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes on Over the Counter every Thursday afternoon. Check out our previous episode with Andrea Sikora, PharmD, MSCR, FCCM, FCCP, BCCCP, who discussed her role in a recently formed committee that addressed pharmacists’ essential roles as part of intensive care unit teams across the country.

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