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Social networks and social support are important factors in medication adherence among people living with HIV (PLWH). Social networks can provide emotional, logistic, and material support leading to increased overall engagement in care. Certain populations of PLWH may have more limited access to social support, including those reentering community settings from correctional facilities. During periods of incarceration, social connections with family and friends may be frayed, reduced, or lost. This study, conducted in South Africa, explored the role of social support during community reentry among PLWH being released from correctional facilities. We conducted in-depth interviews with 41 community reentrants living with HIV. Qualitative analysis identified the challenges with establishing social support during reentry and the greater need for social support to remain engaged in HIV care in the community compared to in the correctional facility. These findings highlight challenges during community reentry and the importance of social support for these individuals.

Understanding factors related to suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and detectable viral load (VL), especially among vulnerable populations, is needed to improve HIV outcomes. The Caribbean is highly impacted by HIV and socioeconomic inequalities, but few studies have been conducted there to explore food insecurity among people with HIV and factors associated with viral suppression in this vulnerable population. Using baseline data from a pilot intervention trial among people living with HIV and food insecurity in the Dominican Republic, we examined psychosocial and behavioral factors associated with viral suppression, ART adherence, and competing needs. Among participants (n = 115), 61% had a detectable VL; the strongest factor associated with detectable VL was having missed taking ART in the last six months due to not having food (OR = 2.68, p = 0.02). Greater odds of reporting missed ART doses due to not having food were associated with severe food insecurity (OR = 4.60, p = 0.006), clinical depression (OR = 2.76, p = 0.018), Haitian background (OR = 6.62 p = 0.017), and internalized HIV stigma (OR = 1.09, p = 0.041), while lower odds were associated with social support (OR = 0.89, p = 0.03) and having health insurance (OR = 0.27, p = 0.017). Ensuring that people with HIV and food insecurity have food to take with their ART is essential for viral suppression.

Adolescents with suboptimal medication taking may deceive caregivers about non-adherence. We conducted a 5-year longitudinal study of adolescents monitored simultaneously with both easily manipulated (e.g., self-report) and hard to manipulate (e.g., microelectronic data) strategies. Adolescents with repeatedly high adherence on the former and low adherence on the latter were invited along with their parental figures ("parents") to participate. We conducted focus groups and semi-structured interviews, separately for adolescents and parents, to elucidate drivers of discordant measures. Forty-seven adolescents and 26 parents participated in focus groups and 4 adolescents were interviewed. Adolescents described hiding pills, discarding pills, and lying. Their motivations included fear of disappointing those who care about them, desire to avoid admonishment by parents and clinic staff, and desire to avoid remedial adherence counseling. Both adolescents and parents considered negative feedback for prior poor adherence to be key motivation to hide current poor adherence from clinic staff. Providing positive feedback for truth-telling, rather than for "evidence" of excellent adherence, might help adolescent patients and their parents to develop stronger treatment alliances with each other and with clinic staff. Such alliances would allow adherence interventions to be better targeted and more fruitful in increasing adherence.

Background: The Diabetes Health Plan (DHP), a value-based insurance plan that reduces cost sharing, was previously shown to modestly increase employer-level medication adherence. However, it is unclear whether the DHP has a larger impact on individual-level medication adherence among lower- or higher-income beneficiaries. Methods: An employer-level propensity score match was done to identify suitable control employers, followed by individual-level propensity score weighting. These weights were applied to difference-in-difference (DID) models examining 1) the effect of the DHP and 2) the effect of income on changes in adherence to metformin, statins, and ACE/ARBs. The weights were then applied to a differences-in-differences-in-differences (DDD) model to estimate the differential impact of DHP status on changes in adherence by income group. This is a retrospective, quasi-experimental study.Results: There were no significant differences in changes to adherence for any medications between beneficiaries enrolled in the DHP versus standard plans. However, changes in adherence were higher for all medications among those in the highest income strata (>$75,000) versus those in the lowest income strata (Conclusion: We did not find significant associations between the DHP and changes in individual-level medication adherence, even for low-income beneficiaries. New strategies to improve consumer engagement may be needed in order to translate value-based insurance designs into changes in patient behavior.

Objectives We aimed to identify, appraise, synthesize, and contextualize rapidly emerging reports on medication taking (‘adherence’) among patients with rheumatic diseases during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL for peer‐reviewed communications, letters, and manuscripts published during the COVID‐19 pandemic evaluating medication taking among individuals with rheumatic diseases. We appraised assessment and reporting of medication adherence according to established definitions of three distinct problems of medication taking (i.e., non‐initiation, poor implementation, and discontinuation) and pooled findings using random effects models. Results We included 31 peer‐reviewed studies in our synthesis from various jurisdictions, of which 25 described medication taking among rheumatology patients and 6 described medication prescribing among rheumatology providers. The pooled prevalence of overall medication non‐adherence was 14.8% (confidence interval [CI]: 12.3%, 17.2%) and that of medication discontinuation (i.e., stopping of prescriptions) and poor implementation (i.e., not taking medication at the dose/frequency prescribed) as 9.5% (CI: 5.1%, 14.0%) and 9.6% (CI: 6.2%, 13.0%), respectively. Non‐initiation (i.e., not starting/not filling new prescriptions) was not addressed. Conclusions Medication taking among individuals with rheumatic diseases during the COVID‐19 pandemic varies globally. Unclear reporting and extensive variation in research methods between studies creates barriers to research replication, comparison, and generalization to specific patient populations. Future research in this area should use consistent and transparent approaches to defining and measuring medication taking problems in order to ensure findings appropriately describe the epidemiology of medication adherence and have the potential to identify modifiable targets for improving patient care.

Background: The healthcare professionals involved in in-hospital treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) are also responsible to patients for their education before leaving the hospital. This education aims to modify patient behaviour in order to reduce relevant risk factors and improve self-control and adherence to medications. The aim of the study was to analyse the relationship between readiness for discharge from hospital and adherence to treatment at follow-up in MI patients. Methods: An observational, single-center, MI cohort study with 6-month follow-up was conducted between May 2015 and July 2016. The Readiness for Hospital Discharge after Myocardial Infarction Scale (RHD-MIS) and the Adherence in Chronic Diseases Scale (ACDS) were applied. Results: Two hundred and thirteen patients aged 30–91 years (62.91 ± 11.26) were enrolled in the study. The RHD-MIS general score ranged from 29 to 69 points (51.16 ± 9.87). A high level of readiness was found in 66 patients (31%), intermediate in 92 (43.2%), and low in 55 (25.8%) of patients. Adherence level assessed with the ACDS 6-months after discharge from hospital ranged from 7 to 28 points (23.34 ± 4.06). An increase in objective assessment of patient knowledge according to RHD-MIS subscale resulted in significantly higher level of adherence at the follow-up visit (p = 0.0154); R Spearman = 0.16671, p = 0.015; p for trend = 0.005. During the 6-month follow-up 3 (1.41%) patients died and 17 (7.98%) were hospitalized for a subsequent acute coronary syndrome. Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence of a long-term association between the results of assessment of readiness for discharge from hospital and adherence to treatment in patients after MI.

Background Patients are often exposed to contradictory information about pharmaceutical products from various types of advertising. For example, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) tend to emphasize a drug's benefits, while drug injury advertising emphasizes the worst side effects. Regarding DTCA as a drug information source, many researchers in pharmacy field focus on investigating the misinformation in DTCA and corrective advertising. However, no prior research has examined the effects of such contradictory advertising messages on patients' prescription medicine-related beliefs and medication adherence. This is a significant gap in the research literature on pharmaceutical advertising effects and medication adherence. Objective This is aimed to examine how exposure to DTCA and drug injury advertising would influence patients’ chronic accessibility of drug-related beliefs and their medication adherence behavior. Methods An online survey was conducted with a sample of 213 patients taking prescription blood thinners. Results The findings from this study did not support the predicted relationship between exposure to DTCA and consumers' drug-related belief accessibility or their medication adherence. However, this study found a significant interaction effect of exposure to DTCA and exposure to drug injury ads on patients’ medication adherence. The analysis results demonstrate that, for those who were exposed to drug injury ads, a significant negative relationship emerged between DTCA exposure and medication adherence. Conclusion This study provides important empirical evidence of a negative interaction effect of exposure to DTCA and drug injury ads on patients' medication adherence, which demonstrates that the influence of DTCA and drug injury ad exposures on patients' medication adherence is not independent, separate process but an interactive process. A communication campaign with corrective advertising could alleviate the negative interaction effect of exposure to contradictory information from different types of pharmaceutical ads on patients’ medication adherence.

OBJECTIVE We examined users' preferences for and engagement with text messages delivered as part of an emergency department (ED)-based intervention to improve antihypertensive medication adherence. METHODS We recruited ED patients with elevated blood pressure for a pilot randomized trial evaluating a medication adherence intervention with text messages. Intervention participants chose text content and frequency, received texts for 45 days, and completed a feedback survey. We defined engagement via responses to texts. We examined participant characteristics associated with text preferences, engagement, and feedback. RESULTS Participants (N = 101) were 57% female and 46% non-White. Most participants (71%) chose to receive both reminder and informational texts; 94% chose reminder texts once per day and 97% chose informational texts three times per week. Median text message response rate was 56% (IQR 26-80%). Participants who were Black (p

Evidence suggests that the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of primary care improves management of chronic disease, but there is limited research contrasting this model's effect when financed by a single payer versus multiple payers, and among patients with different types of health insurance. This study evaluates the impact of a statewide medical home demonstration, the Maryland Multi-Payer PCMH Program (MMPP), on adherence to antihypertensive medication therapy relative to non-PCMH primary care and to the PCMH model when financed by a single payer. The authors used a difference-in-differences analytic design to analyze changes in medication possession ratio for antihypertensive medications among Medicaid-insured and privately insured non-elderly adult patients attributed to primary care practices in the MMPP ("multi-payer PCMHs"), medical homes in Maryland that participated in a regional PCMH program funded by a single private payer ("single-payer PCMHs"), and non-PCMH practices in Maryland. Comparison sites were matched to multi-payer PCMHs using propensity scores based on practice characteristics, location, and aggregated provider characteristics. Multi-payer PCMHs performed better on antihypertensive medication adherence for both Medicaid-insured and privately insured patients relative to single-payer PCMHs. Statistically significant effects were not observed consistently until the second year of the demonstration. There were negligible differences in outcome trends between multi-payer medical homes and matched non-PCMH practices. Findings indicate that health care delivery innovations may yield superior population health outcomes under multi-payer financing compared to when such initiatives are financed by a single payer.

Background It is imperative that non-compliance with statins be identified and addressed to maximize their clinical benefits. Patient self-reporting methods are convenient to apply in clinical practice but need to be validated. Objective We studied the concordance of a patient self-report method, Morisky eight-item medication adherence scale (MMAS)), with the pill count method in measuring adherence with statins and their correlation with extended lipid profile parameters and serum hydroxyl-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCoA-R) enzyme levels. Methods MMAS and the pill count method were used to measure the adherence with statins in patients on statins for any duration. Patients were subjected to an estimation of extended lipid profile and serum HMGCoA-R levels at the end of three months follow-up. Results Out of a total of 200 patients included in the study, 117 patients had a low adherence (score less than 6 on MMAS) whereas 65 and 18 patients had medium (score 6 or 7) and high adherence (score of 8), respectively. The majority of patients who had low adherence to statins by MMAS were nonadherent by the pill count method yielding a concordance of 96.5%. Medium or high adherence to statins by the MMAS method had a concordance of 89.1% with the pill count method. The levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and HMGCoA-R were negatively correlated with compliance measured by pill count and MMAS in a statistically significant way and with similar correlation coefficients. HMGCoA-R levels demonstrated a plateau phenomenon, with levels being 9-10 ng/ml when compliance with statin therapy was greater than 60% by pill count and greater than 6 on the Morisky scale. Conclusion In conclusion, MMAS and the pill count method showed concordance in measuring adherence to statins. These methods need to be explored further for their interchangeability as surrogates for biomarker levels.

Evidence for a relationship between polysubstance use, depression, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is limited. The objectives of this study were to examine the associations of depression, illicit drug and alcohol use with adherence to ART. People living with HIV (PLHIV) from the Miami Adult Studies on HIV (MASH) cohort were asked about the number of doses of their ART medication missed to assess adherence to ART. Harmful alcohol drinking was evaluated using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and illicit substance use assessed with self-report and urine screen. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to assess depression symptoms. Of 391 PLHIV, 16.6% missed at least one dose (Range 1–5) in the past four days. Cocaine/crack, opiate use and depression were significantly independently associated with a bigger mean number of doses missed. The mean number of doses missed was significantly bigger among participants who used alcohol in combination with cocaine/crack, marijuana, and tobacco compared to non-users. In conclusion, polysubstance use increased risk for poor ART adherence among PLHIV. The use of cocaine/crack or opiates individually, and depressive symptoms also promote poor adherence to ART. An integrated approach is needed to address substance disorders and depression in order to achieve better ART adherence.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment (CI) is highly prevalent in elderly asthmatics and is associated with worse asthma self-management (SM) and outcomes. CI may also explain why older adults may under-perceive asthma symptoms. We hypothesized that CI would be associated with low medication adherence and asthma symptom under-perception (ASP). We also hypothesized that ASP would mediate the relationship between CI and medication adherence. METHODS: Participants of this longitudinal cohort study were asthmatics (N=334) ≥60 years (51% Hispanic, 25% Black). Cognitive measures assessed general cognition, attention, processing speed, executive functioning, memory, and language. Measures of SM were self-reported and electronically measured adherence to controller medications. ASP was assessed for 6 weeks by participants entering estimates of peak expiratory flow (PEF) into a programmable peak flow meter, followed by PEF blows. Participants were blinded to actual PEF values. Percentage of time that participants were in the over-perception zone was calculated as an average. RESULTS: In regression analyses, those with impairments in memory and general cognition had lower odds ratios (OR) for self-reported non-adherence (OR: 0.96, 95% CI 0.93–0.98 & OR: 0.90, 95% CI 0.83–0.96, respectively). CI was not associated with electronically measured non-adherence or ASP. In structural equation modeling, while CI was associated with adherence (β=0.04, SE = 0.021, p=0.04), ASP did not mediate this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: While results confirmed the importance of cognition in asthma SM, these findings were not linked to ASP. Future analyses are needed to understand the role of confounding factors.

Nonadherence to medication is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and can result in disease complications, therapy escalation, and the need for corticosteroids. The aim of this study was to assess the adherence to self-administered subcutaneous biologic medications prescribed for IBD and to identify the risk factors for nonadherence.A retrospective cohort study on IBD patients initiated on subcutaneous biologic therapy between January 2016 and July 2019 was performed. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for collection of demographic and IBD data. Medication possession ratios (mMPRs) during the first 12 months of treatment and at the end of the follow-up period (global, 42 months) were calculated. Nonadherence was defined as an mMPR of90%. Multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the risk factors for nonadherence to therapy.A total of 154 patients (84 male and 70 female; mean age at biologic treatment initiation, 36±14 years; Crohn's disease, n=118; ulcerative colitis, n=31; indeterminate colitis, n=5) were included; 121 received adalimumab (ADA) and 33 received ustekinumab (UST); 63% were naive to anti-TNF therapy, while 16.9% previously received more than two biologic treatments. Mean time from IBD diagnosis to subcutaneous biological agent use was 16±10 months. Mean duration of subcutaneous agent use was 17.6 (SD, 11.0) and 17.08 (SD, 6.8) months for ADA and UST, respectively. Global nonadherence (mMPR≤90%) rate was 6.6% for all patients receiving subcutaneous treatment, 6.3% for ADA, and 6.5% for UST. Nonadherence during the first 12 months of treatment (n=98) was 6.1% for all patients, 2.7% for ADA, and 16% for UST. In the multivariate analysis, UST use was independently associated with higher nonadherence only within the first 12 months (OR, 6.7; 95% CI, 1.1-39.5).High global adherence to self-administered subcutaneous biologic treatment was shown in our study, with higher rates of adherence to ADA than to UST within the first 12 months.

Background Medication nonadherence is an important public health issue that has individual and system-level implications. Nonadherence can lead to negative health outcomes and illness, which in turn produce increased healthcare costs for both the individual and system. The transtheoretical model of change (TTM) can be a useful basis for interventions, as it can identify patients' current stages of change and guide them from nonadherence to adherence. Objective The objective of this systematic review was to determine the utilization of the TTM to predict or improve medication adherence in patients with chronic conditions. Methods A systematic review of current literature was conducted to obtain an overview of the use of TTM-informed interventions for medication adherence in chronic conditions. PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo and CINAHL databases were searched in July 2020. The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated using the Downs and Black checklist. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed for data extraction, analysis, and reporting. Results Ten studies were included in the final data synthesis of this review. Eight of the reviewed studies supported the utility of TTM to predict or improve medication adherence in patients with chronic conditions, while two studies did not find any significant improvement in medication adherence after using a TTM-based intervention. The Downs and Black checklist revealed the overall methodological quality of the included studies to be fair [mean (SD) = 16.3 (4.5) of a possible maximum score of 28]. Conclusion This systematic review provides an overview of the utility of TTM in predicting and improving medication adherence in patients with chronic conditions. Although TTM-based interventions in patients with low or moderate medication adherence were effective, there were few studies identified, suggesting the need for further research.

Individuals with psychiatric disorders often struggle to initiate and engage in treatment. Financial incentives improve treatment engagement, including treatment attendance, medication adherence, and abstinence from substance use. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently made the first large-scale, successful effort to implement incentive-based interventions in substance use disorder treatment. Health care systems, including the VA, can increase the impact of these interventions by extending them to target a range of psychiatric disorders, adapting them for specific clinical contexts, using insights from behavioral economics, and partnering with corporations to fund incentives and implement interventions.

OBJECTIVE To assess the association of antimalarials (AM) adherence with premature mortality among incident systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS All patients with incident SLE and incident AM use in British Columbia, Canada, between January 1997 and March 2015 were identified using the provincial administrative databases. Follow-up started on the first day of having both SLE and AM. The outcome was all-cause mortality. An adherence measure, proportion of days covered (PDC), was calculated and categorized as adherent (PDC≥0.90), non-adherent (0

Introduction Depression and pain are common, disabling, mutually exacerbating conditions. Many patients living with these conditions present to community pharmacies on a regular schedule to purchase both prescribed and over-the-counter medications. Community-pharmacy based programs have been developed to improve depression and pain outcomes. Methods The PRISMA guidelines were utilized to answer the following question: In patients with depression and/or pain, what is the effect of the existing community pharmacy programs on depression and/or pain outcomes. Queried databases included Pubmed, EMBASE, and PsychINFO. DistillerSR was used to organize the screening, abstraction, and review of data. All potential articles were evaluated by two authors, and conflicts were discussed to achieve resolution. In addition to primary outcomes, sources of potential bias and quality indicators were abstracted for every article. Results Three thousand nine hundred and twenty articles were reviewed, and 13 studies met eligibility criteria (n = 7 for depression; n = 6 for pain). Most studies demonstrated improvement in measures of depression or pain. However, compared to usual care or other control conditions, most of the depression and pain-specific interventions did not provide additional symptomatic benefit. The community pharmacy-based interventions were superior for other outcomes including medication adherence, reducing stigma, improvement in self-efficacy, and improvement in general management of disease. Conclusion Community pharmacies may be uniquely positioned to deliver interventions that improve outcomes associated with successful depression and pain treatment outcomes. However, the benefits of published community pharmacy-based treatments for actually improving depression and pain severity has not yet been established. Innovative interventions and additional research may be needed to achieve clinical success for pharmacy interventions for depression and pain.

To investigate the relationship between medication adherence, trust in physician and beliefs about medication among stroke survivors. To determine whether beliefs about medication would mediate the relationship between trust in physician and medication adherence.A sample of 200 patients with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) completed a one-time survey, including the shortened Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5), Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), and Trust in Physician Scale (TIPS).Our study found that medication adherence was associated with trust in physician (p = 0.019) and four factors of beliefs about medication (BMQ1-Necessity: p 0.001; BMQ2-Concerns: p = 0.024; BMQ3-Overuse: p = 0.016; BMQ4-Harm: p 0.001). Furthermore, we found monthly income of survivors moderated the relationship between trust in physician and medication adherence (p = 0.007, CIThe beliefs about medication mediating the relationship between trust in physician and medication adherence were different based on the stroke survivors' income bracket.Interventions being developed to improve medication adherence may benefit from improving stroke survivors' trust in physician and addressing their beliefs about medication. In addition, healthcare providers are advised to take monthly income into consideration to effectively address stroke survivors' concerns regarding prescribed medications to mitigate stroke recurrence.

OBJECTIVE This work aims to analyze the impact of Spain's National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC-Ferrer)'s cardiovascular (CV)-polypill on blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (cLDL) levels in patients in our healthcare area who previously took equipotent doses of statins and antihypertensives. MATERIAL AND METHODS All patients in our healthcare area (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) who, as of December 31, 2019, had an active prescription for the CV-polypill (CNIC-Ferrer) since January 16, 2015 were registered. The index date was the start date of the CV-polypill prescription. The drugs the patient had previously received for dyslipidemia and hypertension were analyzed, classifying them by their equivalent potency to atorvastatin and ramipril. Changes in cLDL and BP were analyzed by means of Student's t-test for paired samples. RESULTS We analyzed 547 patients with a mean age of 71.5 ± 11.5 years. The majority were men (60.6%). We observed a decrease in cLDL (-10.6 [95% CI: -7.0, -14.3], p

Adolescent and young adult kidney transplant recipients have a high risk of rejection related to suboptimal adherence. Multicomponent interventions improve adherence in controlled trials, but clinical implementation is lacking. We describe an initiative to reduce allograft rejection using evidence-based adherence promotion strategies.Interrupted time series.Kidney transplant recipients cared for at Cincinnati Children's Hospital ≥ 1 year after transplant and taking ≥1 immunosuppressive medication(s) from 2014 through 2017.The following interventions, collectively called MAPS (Medication Adherence Promotion System), were implemented over 14 months: (1) adherence promotion training for clinical staff, 2) electronic health record-supported adherence risk screening, (3) systematic assessment of medication adherence barriers, (4) designation of specific staff to address adherence barriers, (5) shared decision-making with the patients to overcome adherence barriers, (6) follow-up evaluation to assess progress, and (7) optional electronic medication monitoring.Primary Outcome: Late acute rejection. Process measures were conducted to assess barriers, identify barriers, and perform interventions. The secondary outcomes/balancing measures were de novo donor-specific antibodies (DSA), biopsy rate, and rejections per biopsy.Time series analysis using statistical process control evaluated patient-days between acute rejections as well as monthly rejections per 100 patient-months before and after implementation. To control for known rejection risk factors including changes in treatment and case mix, multivariable analyses were performed.The monthly rejection rate fell from 1.61 rejections per 100 patient-months in the 26 months before implementation to 0.88 rejections per 100 patient-months in the 22 months after implementation. In the multivariable analysis, MAPS was associated with a 50% reduction in rejection incidence (incidence rate ratio, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.27-0.91]; P = 0.02). DSA and time since transplant (per each additional year) were also associated with rejection incidence (incidence rate ratio, 2.27 [P = 0.02] and 0.87 [P = 0.02], respectively).Single-center study, and potential confounding by unmeasured variables.Clinical implementation of evidence-based adherence-promotion strategies was associated with a 50% reduction in acute rejection incidence over 2 years.

Objectives Most spending for prescription drugs is on branded drugs that do not have direct generic equivalents but many of these drugs do have therapeutic alternatives within class. We estimate the potential savings from providing patients a financial incentive to switch from a higher cost drug to a lower cost, therapeutic alternative drug. Methods We used individual state-transition microsimulations to model medication use and spending with and without financial incentives over a 12-month time horizon with a healthcare sector perspective. Costs and utilization inputs were from individuals on branded insulins or multiple sclerosis drugs enrolled in a regional mixed-model health maintenance organization. Base-case model used a one-time financial incentive of $83 and $250 offered to patients on higher cost insulin and multiple sclerosis treatments, respectively, to switch to lower cost drugs within class. Results Savings per individual offered an incentive in the insulin and multiple sclerosis classes were, respectively, $84 (95% CI $46-$122) and $2,127 (95% CI $267-$3,987). Varying the incentive size and switch probability resulted in maximum savings of $712 at elasticity of 0.2 and incentive size $250 for the insulin drug class. For the multiple sclerosis drug class, maximum savings of $5945 was at elasticity of 0.2 and incentive size of $1000. Short time horizon makes our savings estimates conservative. Conclusions If programs such as financial incentives could encourage even a small proportion of patients to switch among drugs within therapeutic class, then substantial savings could be generated.

With increasing drug prices in the past decade, affordability and medication adherence are a growing concern for near-poor older adults, especially for those who are not receiving Low-Income Subsidy in Medicare Part D. SeniorCare is a pharmaceutical assistance program in Wisconsin for near-poor older adults, providing comprehensive prescription coverage with flat copayments.To evaluate five-year trends in financial hardship and medication adherence and to examine factors associated with these outcomes in SeniorCare members.SeniorCare program enrollment and pharmacy claims data from 2014 to 2018 were used. The study population was near-poor older adults in SeniorCare with annual family income ≤200% of the federal poverty level. Financial burden was assessed using the proportion of total annual out-of-pocket costs to total annual income. Medication adherence was assessed by adapting the measures endorsed by the Pharmacy Quality Alliance and National Quality Forum. Descriptive statistics and independent t-tests were used to evaluate the trends, and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to examine factors associated with financial burden and medication adherence.From 2014 to 2018, mean annual out-of-pocket costs per member declined by 3.7% (p 0.001) for all drugs, while those for specialty drugs increased by 31.2% (p 0.05). Around 3.3% spent more than 5% of their income for prescription drugs in 2014, which decreased to 2.4% in 2018 (p 0.001). The proportions of adherent patients increased from 78.1% to 81.2% (p 0.001) for diabetes medications (excluding insulins), from 77.3% to 79.5% (p 0.001) for statins, and from 79.8% to 80.8% (p 0.05) for RASA. Members subject to a $500 annual deductible were more likely to experience high financial burden (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.677, p 0.001) and less likely to be adherent to diabetes medications (AOR = 0.484, p 0.001).The near-poor older adults enrolled in Wisconsin SeniorCare program had low financial burden and good medication adherence within the program.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for primary medication nonadherence among low-income minority children with persistent asthma. Method Data were from an environmental control and educational intervention for children with uncontrolled asthma who were treated in the emergency department for an asthma exacerbation. Presence or absence of pharmacy records for child asthma medications was the outcome of interest. A range of sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial measures were included in the binary logistic regression. Results Of the 222 youths (mean age = 6.3 years; 93.7% Black), 25 (11.3%) lacked pharmacy records of asthma medications. For every 1-point increase in caregiver depressive symptoms, the odds of the child having a pharmacy record declined by 5% (odds ratio = 0.95; p = .012). Discussion Providers should systematically assess and monitor caregiver depressive symptoms as a potential contributing factor for primary medication nonadherence in low-income minority children with persistent, uncontrolled asthma.

To identify a high-need, high-cost (HNHC) group among hospitalized lupus patients and to compare clinical and social factors of the HNHC group with those of other patients with lupus.All hospitalizations for lupus in a tertiary care center over a 3-year period were recorded. The number of admissions, 30-day readmissions, length of stay (LOS), and cost of admissions were compared for high-risk patients with those of all other hospitalized lupus patients (OHLP) during this period. We then compared clinical measures (double-stranded DNA [dsDNA] levels, complement proteins, body mass index, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index [SDI] scores, and Case Mix Index [CMI] scores) for the HNHC cohort with those of the OHLP group. We additionally differentiated social factors (age, race and ethnicity, poverty, and medication adherence) between the 2 groups.A total of 202 patients with lupus accounted for 467 hospitalizations over the study period. The total cost of admissions was $13,192,346. Forty-four patients had significantly higher admissions, 30-day readmissions, and LOS. Furthermore, the cost for this group was 6-fold that for the OHLP group, confirming the presence of an HNHC cohort. The HNHC group had significantly higher dsDNA levels, SDI scores, and CMI scores compared with the OHLP group. Infections were the most common cause of admission for both groups. Patients in the HNHC group were more likely to be African American, younger, diagnosed with lupus at an earlier age, to have lower medication adherence, and to be significantly more likely to live in areas of poverty.A small group of patients with lupus (the HNHC group) accounts for most of the hospitalizations and cost. The HNHC group has both social and clinical factors significantly different from other patients with lupus.

Background: Uncontrolled or suboptimal treatment of high blood pressure may negatively affect the cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or renal systems. This condition may contribute to high rates of morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the sociodemographic predictors of medication adherence among adult patients with hypertension at the Hypertension Clinic of the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital in Ghana. Methods: This study has a descriptive cross-sectional design. The study setting was the Hypertension Clinic of the Bawku Presbyterian hospital in the Upper East region of Ghana. A total of 269 adults with hypertension referring to the clinic were recruited using a convenience sampling method in 2020. The Hill-Bone medication adherence scale was used to measure medication adherence, and a researcher-made questionnaire was used to gather demographic variables and contributory factors. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software v. 22. Regression analysis was done to identify predictors of medication adherence. P

Medication nonadherence and health literacy are key factors that influence the management of difficult-to-control asthma. Adherence, or the extent to which a patient follows a treatment plan, extends beyond asthma medication use and includes appropriate inhaler technique. Assessment of adherence is critical prior to making a diagnosis of severe asthma and stepping up asthma therapy but is challenging in the clinical context. Health literacy, or the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, and understand health information and services needed to make health care decisions, is additionally important for asthma management and has been shown to impact medication adherence. Initiatives aiming to improve difficult-to-control asthma should address medication adherence and health literacy. Universal health literacy precautions are recommended while communicating with patients, in addition to the creation of low health literacy asthma action plans. To improve adherence, a comprehensive assessment of adherence should be conducted. Additional evidence based interventions aiming to improve adherence focus on appropriate inhaler use, improved access to medications, the use of digital platforms, school based asthma interventions, and the implementation of culturally tailored interventions. Data is limited regarding the use of these initiatives in patients with severe or difficult-to-control asthma.

Introducción: El confinamiento debido a la pandemia por COVID 19 en España tuvo probablemente un importante impacto emocional en los pacientes crónicos, y por tanto en aquellos que sufren enfermedad inflaamtoria intestinal (EII) debido a su riesgo incrementado de padecer desórdenes emocionales. El objetivo: de este estudio es el de conocer como la COVID 19 ha influído a los pacientes con EII durante el período de cuarentena, haciendo especial hincapie en el nivel de estrés a través de la Escala de Estrés Percibido (PSS-10) así como en la adherencia a los tratamientos a través de la escala visual analógica (VAS). Pacientes y métodos: Estudio prospectivo, unicéntrico y observacional realizado en la Unidad de EII durante el mes de agosto de 2020. Los pacientes fueron entrevistados por teléfono. Se llevó a cabo un análisis descriptivo inicial, posteriormente se identificaron los factores relacionados con la pérdida de adherencia así como con los niveles altos-moderados de estrés a través de análisis de regresión logística multivariante. Resultados: Fueron incluidos un total de 426 pacientes con una puntuación media en la escala PSS-10 de 12 (10-16). Los niveles más altos de estrés se reportaron en aquellos pacientes que no estaban casados, las mujeres o aquellos que habían incrementado sintomatología relacionada con su EII. La adherencia al tratamiento no se asoció con el nivel de estrés basado en el cuestionario PSS-10. Conclusiones: A pesar de que el período de cuarentena por COVID-19 haya podido tener un importante papel en el impacto emocional de la población española con EII, los pacientes con EII tuvieron en general nvieles bajos se´gun el cuestionario PSS-10.

Background Medication adherence is generally low and challenging to address because patient actions control healthcare delivery outside of medical environments. Behavioral nudging changes clinician behavior, but nudging patient decision-making requires further testing. This trial evaluated whether behavioral nudges can increase statin adherence, measured as the proportion of days covered (PDC). Methods In a 12-month parallel-group, unblinded, randomized controlled trial, adult patients in Intermountain Healthcare cardiology clinics were enrolled. Inclusion required an indication for statins and membership in SelectHealth insurance. Subjects were randomized 1:1 to control or nudges. Nudge content, timing, frequency, and delivery route were personalized by CareCentra using machine learning of subject motivations and abilities from psychographic assessment, demographics, social determinants, and the Intermountain Mortality Risk Score. PDC calculation used SelectHealth claims data. Results Among 182 subjects, age averaged 63.2±8.5 years, 25.8% were female, baseline LDL-C was 82.5±32.7 mg/dL, and 93.4% had coronary disease. Characteristics were balanced between nudge (n=89) and control arms (n=93). The statin PDC was greater at 12 months in the nudge group (PDC: 0.742±0.318) compared to controls (PDC: 0.639±0.358, p=0.042). Adherent subjects (PDC ≥80%) were more concentrated in the nudge group (66.3% vs. controls: 50.5%, p=0.036) while a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and revascularization was non-significant (nudges: 6.7% vs. control: 10.8%, p=0.44). Conclusions Persuasive behavioral nudges driven by artificial intelligence resulted in a clinically important increase in statin adherence in general cardiology patients. This precision patient decision support utilized computerized nudge design and delivery with minimal on-going human input.

Medication nonadherence among bipolar disorder (BD) is often linked with comorbid substance use disorders. This study aims to investigate cannabis use disorder (CUD) association with medication noncompliance in hospitalized BD patients.Using data on 266,303 BD hospitalizations between 2010 and 2014 from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, we obtained medication noncompliance rates stratified by demographics and CUD. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with medication noncompliance.Overall mean age, the prevalence of CUD, and medication nonadherence were 41.58 (± 0.11) years, 15.0% and 16.1%, respectively. There were 56.6% females in the overall population. There was a significant difference in the characteristics of those in the medication nonadherence vs adherence groups, including age, sex, race, comorbid substance use, income, insurance type, hospital region, and hospital teaching status (p 0.001). After adjusting for other variables using multivariate analysis, there remained a statistically significant association of medication nonadherence in BD hospitalization and CUD (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.36-1.48).Confounding multiple substance use could not be accounted for, and the retrospective nature of the database which includes only inpatients is prone to possible selection and reporting bias.CUD statistically predicts increased rates of medication nonadherence among patients with BD. Given the possible association of CUD with medication nonadherence among BD patients, collaborative work between general adult psychiatry and addiction services is imperative in improving the management outcome of patients with BD and comorbid CUD.

Background/aims This study aimed to investigate the perceptions and behaviors of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the major epidemic area in Korea. Methods Between April and May 2020, a cross-sectional survey was performed at two tertiary hospitals in Daegu, South Korea, on patients' experiences, coping strategies and perceptions. Results Most of the 544 patients participating in the survey strictly adhered to personal protection guidance against COVID-19. In the early COVID-19 crisis, many patients canceled or postponed hospital visits (57.5%) and rescheduled biologics administrations (26.4%). Although 13.6% utilized telemedicine, the frequency of individuals leaving their homes remained unchanged. Although 50.4% were concerned about their susceptibility to COVID-19, 72.2% adhered to their treatment for IBD. In patients taking biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors, 86.8% disagreed that they should discontinue their medication as a preventative measure against COVID- 19, but 21.9% actually discontinued their medications. Of those with discordance between the perception of IBD drug adherence and active behaviors, 5.4% of all and 39.4% of biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors withheld drugs specifically due to fear of COVID-19. Only 7% of all patients discussed drug safety with their physicians. The level of concern for COVID-19 depended on the type of drug used. Conclusions Patients with IBD showed concerns about the increased risk of COVID-19 due to IBD or their medications, and a considerable number of patients withheld their medications without consulting medical staff. Enhanced active communications with patients with IBD and appropriate health-related education should be provided.

Nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs is an important reason for not reaching blood pressure goals. A possible method to improve nonadherence involves three essential steps: Identification of nonadherent patients (step 1), determination of underlying causes (step 2) and a personalized solution (step 3). We present three unique cases to show the importance and difficulties of this threestep approach. Patients participated in a randomized controlled trial to improve nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs (RHYMERCT, Dutch Trial Register NL6736). Drug level measurements were used to identify nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs and communication on drug levels was supported by a tailored feedback tool in these patients. These cases showed that a three-step approach of identifying nonadherence and determination of the underlying cause, can lead to a personalized solution to improve therapy even when nonadherence was excluded. Open communication with patients remains an essential part when improving nonadherence.

Medication nonadherence is a widespread problem among cardiovascular patients. Advanced practice providers (APPs) play a critical role in assessing for medication adherence upon hospital admission. A pre–post intervention design was used to determine the effect of an education module on APP knowledge and assessment of medication adherence in cardiovascular patients over a 12-week period in the Division of Cardiology. We found a statistically significant increase in cardiology APP knowledge and assessment of medication adherence upon hospital admission using an education module and providing a valid and reliable assessment tool in the electronic health record.

Aim of the work To evaluate the relationship between medication adherence, serum uric acid (SUA) levels, and diet, with recurrent gout attacks. Patients and methods This study included 89 patients being followed up for gouty arthritis. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data, gout attacks frequency, history of acute intake of purine rich foods prior to the gouty attack, and adherence to urate-lowering therapies (ULT). Results 89 patients were studied, 84 males and 5 females with a mean age of 55.4 ± 13.7 years, disease duration 12.22 ± 9.2 years and body mass index 24.67 ± 5.01. 71.9% were Malays, 20.2% Chinese, 6.7% Indians and 1.1% others. 61.8% had at least one episode of gout flare in the past 6 months. Of the 86 taking ULT, 65 (75.6%) were adherent. There was no difference in clinical characteristics between those who had high versus low adherence. High adherence to ULT was not associated with lower SUA or not having recurrent gout attacks. Having a high SUA level [OR = 2.86 (95%CI:1.52–5.39)], acute intake of purine-rich foods [OR = 2.01 (95%CI:1.09–3.73)] and obesity [OR = 1.58 (95%CI:1.09–2.32)] were significantly associated with recurrent gout attacks. Conclusions Although three-quarters of patients were adherent to their ULT, it was not associated with a reduction in recurrent gout attacks or lower SUA levels. Recurrent gout attacks were associated with a high SUA and an acute intake of purine-rich foods. To reduce the burden of recurrent gout attacks, ULT may need to be intensified even in adherent patients, as well as avoiding dietary indiscretions.

Aims: In light of the extended overall survival and improved quality of life provided by advanced prostate cancer (PC) oral therapies, this study aimed to describe treatment adherence to advanced PC oral therapies and evaluate associated patient characteristics and subsequent healthcare resource utilization (HRU). Patients & methods: Patients with advanced PC initiating apalutamide, enzalutamide or abiraterone acetate were identified from administrative data (October 1, 2014–September 30, 2019). Adherence and persistence at six months postinitiation were used to evaluate patient factors and HRU. Results: Aged ≥75 years, Black race, chemotherapy use and higher pharmacy paid amounts were associated with poor adherence/persistence, which translated to higher HRU. Conclusions: Strategies to increase adherence and persistence may improve patient outcomes and associated HRU.

Setting Five select districts of Karnataka, India, providing anti-tubercular and antiretroviral therapy (ATT and ART) to people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - associated Tuberculosis (TB) through a single window care approach at the ART centres (seven ART centres and 16 link ART centres). Objectives To determine the factors associated with non-adherence to concurrent therapy. Design We conducted a case–control study involving primary and secondary data collection. Starting January 2019, we consecutively enrolled people on at least three months of ATT until we enrolled 125 cases (non-adherent to concurrent therapy) and 375 controls (adherent to concurrent therapy). Adherence was defined as taking >95% ART doses and >90% ATT doses, every month over the last three months. We performed multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with non-adherence. Results The mean age of the cases and control was similar: 39.8 (standard deviation: 8.8) years. The risk factors for non-adherence were status non-disclosure (aOR = 2.06), zidovudine-based ART (aOR = 4.87), >3 side effects (aOR = 6.45), not receiving counselling before ATT initiation (aOR = 5.25) and non-receipt of co-trimoxazole prophylaxis (aOR = 9.90). Conclusion Major determinants for non-adherence were clinical and treatment related factors.

BACKGROUND Access to naloxone is a primary public health strategy to prevent opioid overdose death. Factors associated with primary medication nonadherence (PMN) to naloxone are underreported in the literature. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate naloxone dispensing trends and PMN in a community pharmacy setting. METHODS This retrospective analysis included patients of a community pharmacy chain in Maine and New Hampshire (57 and 29 pharmacy locations, respectively) for whom a claim for a naloxone prescription was billed between January 1, 2019, and July 31, 2020. RESULTS A total of 2152 patients associated with 2606 naloxone claims were identified for analysis. A majority of the subjects were women (52.7%) and the mean age of all the subjects was 46.4 ± 16.0 years. Of the 2606 naloxone claims, 565 prescriptions were returned to stock and never dispensed to the patient for a PMN rate of 21.7%. Gender and age were not associated with naloxone PMN. Factors associated with naloxone PMN were urban location [x2(1) = 12.49, P = 0.0004], concomitant opioid analgesic [x2(1) = 4.56, P = 0.0328], and payment method [x2(4) = 251.07, P < 0.0001]. Regarding payment method, nonadherence was higher among cash (138 of 386, 35.8%) and private insurance (191 of 455, 42.0%) transactions whereas lower among Medicare (132 of 681, 19.4%) and Medicaid (89 of 899, 9.9%) transactions. Concomitant buprenorphine [x2(1) = 44.57, P < 0.0001] and the use of a naloxone standing order [x2(1) = 4.79, P = 0.0162] were associated with primary adherence to take-home naloxone. CONCLUSION A notable portion of naloxone prescribed and filled in the community pharmacy setting was never obtained by the patient. Factors associated with PMN in this study included geographic location, use of a standing order, concomitant prescriptions for buprenorphine or opioid analgesic medications, and payment method. Underlying causes of PMN must be addressed (e.g., removing financial barriers and optimizing the use of standing orders) to increase naloxone access for persons at risk of opioid overdose.

Background & Aims To determine the trends of self-reported non-adherence rates among adults taking Type 2 medicines (T2D) medicines between 2017 and 2019 and to identify the patterns for the frequently reported reasons for non-adherence in the United States. Methods & Results Data from the National Health and Wellness Survey, a self-administered, internet-based cross-sectional survey of US adults from 2017 to 2019 was used. Non-adherence was measured using the self-reported Medication Adherence Reasons Scale (MAR-Scale). Frequencies were used to identify the reasons for non-adherence for insulin and non-insulin therapies for T2D. Data were obtained from 2,983 respondents in 2017, 5,416 in 2018, and 5,268 in 2019. Based on the MAR-Scale, the self-reported medication non-adherence rate was 25% in 2017, 21% in 2018, and 27% in 2019. The most common reason for non-adherence across all the three years was simple forgetfulness, yet patients reported the lowest mean number of days missing medication for that reason. Though less frequently reported, non-adherence lasted longer when patient did not know how to take medicines, cost was a reason, or had concerns about the long term effects of the medicines. Conclusions With no significant improvement in adherence with T2D medicines over time, regardless of better awareness and extensive diabetes education, focus should be on individualized non-adherence reasons-based interventions.

Current glaucoma treatments aim to lower intraocular pressure, often with topical ocular hypotensive medications. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these medications depends on sustained patient adherence to regimens which may involve instilling multiple medications several times daily. Patient adherence to glaucoma medications is often low. Recent innovations in digital sensor technologies have been leveraged to confirm eyedrop medication usage in real-time and relay this information back to providers. Some sensors have also been designed to deliver medication reminders and notifications as well as assist with correct eyedrop administration technique. Here, we review recent innovations targeted at improving glaucoma medication adherence and discuss their limitations.

Half of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended, and the rate is even higher in women aged ≤25 years. We sought to identify which method of contraception was the most effective option to prevent unintended pregnancy in young women and adolescents. Systematic searches, without language restrictions, were carried out of the PubMed, Embase, Lilacs and Cochrane databases from inception to July 2020. Abstracts and full-text articles of observational studies and randomised controlled trials comparing the use of multiple methods of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and short-acting reversible contraception (SARC) in young women and adolescents were screened and reviewed. Risk ratios (RRs) and mean differences with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were derived using a random-effects meta-analytical model. Meta-analyses provided pooled estimates for adverse events, continuation rates and efficacy of LARC methods in young women and adolescents. Nine of the 25 included studies compared LARC with SARC, and 16 compared LARC methods only. At 12 months, young women had better adherence with LARC compared with SARC (n = 1606; RR 1.60; 95% CI 1.21, 2.12; I2 = 88%), which suggests a better unintended pregnancy prevention outcome for young women. However, more young women chose SARC (n = 2835; RR 0.37; 95% CI 0.17, 0.80; I2 = 99%). Pregnancy during LARC use was rare. LARC methods are the most efficacious in preventing pregnancy, and women should be informed of this if pregnancy prevention is their priority. The evidence, however, is of low quality. CRD42017055452.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) non-adherence and methamphetamine use are associated with higher HIV drug resistance prevalence. How they affect drug resistance mutations accumulation is less studied. Objective: We assessed factors associated with drug resistance mutations accumulation. Methods: We evaluated HIV chronically-infected patients from a clinic-based research cohort on first-line ART regimens with genotype results within 30 days of baseline. Methamphetamine use and ART adherence were self-reported at each study visit. High ART adherence was defined as 0-5% missed doses in the last 30 days. Results: One-hundred twenty-five patients contributed 496 study visits. At baseline, 81% of patients reported high ART adherence; 90% reported no methamphetamine use in the prior 4 months, 8% used monthly or less and 2% used daily or weekly. Methamphetamine users and non-users had similarly high ART adherence (p=0.93). Adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) of drug resistance mutations accumulation was 2.04 (95% CI 0.64, 6.46) for daily/weekly users and 1.71 (95% CI 0.66, 4.42) for patients with monthly or less users, compared to non-users. aIRR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.44, 1.15) with >5-10% missed ART doses and 1.21 (95% CI 0.80, 1.83) with >10% missed doses compared to 0-5% missed doses. Conclusions: We found no strong evidence for the effect of methamphetamine use and ART adherence on drug resistance mutations accumulation. Research cohort patients may have been more engaged in care and treatment adherent than non-cohort patients. Our findings suggest methamphetamine use might not lead to treatment failure among HIV patients who are otherwise engaged in care.

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text., Introduction: Recent studies project thousands of additional AIDS-related deaths because of COVID-19–related disruptions in HIV care. However, the extent to which disruptions in care have materialized since the start of the pandemic is not well understood. Methods: We use electronic health records to investigate how the pandemic has affected clinic visits, patients' antiretroviral therapy (ART) supply, and viral suppression for a cohort of 14,632 HIV clients from a large HIV clinic in Kampala, Uganda. We complement this with an analysis of electronically measured longitudinal ART adherence data from a subcohort of 324 clients. Results: Clinic visits decreased by more than 50% after a national lockdown started. The risk of patients running out of ART on a given day increased from 5% before the lockdown to 25% 3 months later (Relative Risk Ratio of 5.11, 95% confidence interval: 4.99 to 5.24) and remained higher than prelockdown 6 months later at 13% (Relative Risk Ratio of 2.60; 95% confidence interval: 2.52 to 2.70). There was no statistically significant change in electronically measured adherence or viral suppression. Conclusion: We document substantial gaps in HIV care after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. This suggests that measures to improve access should be explored as the pandemic persists. However, ART adherence was unaffected for the subcohort for whom we measured electronic adherence. This suggests that some clients may have stockpiles of ART tablets from previous prescriptions that allowed them to keep taking their medication even when they could not visit the clinic for ART refills.

Background: Although HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART) access and uptake have increased among racial/ethnic minority individuals, lower rates of ART adherence and viral suppression persist, especially among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) compared with their White counterparts. Setting: Black men who have sex with men living with HIV (BMSM+) residing in Los Angeles County (N = 124) were recruited in-person (eg, clinic) and online (eg, social networking apps). Methods: Participants completed a cross-sectional survey measuring demographic characteristics, structural syndemics (poverty, criminal justice involvement, and housing instability), and psychosocial syndemics (mental health and substance use). A text message survey assessed missed doses of ART over the past week. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models were used to evaluate variables associated with the number of missed doses of ART. Results: On average, participants missed 1.30 doses of ART (SD = 2.09) and reported structural syndemics: poverty (56.1%), criminal justice involvement (36.6%), housing instability (26.3%), and psychosocial syndemics: childhood sexual abuse (51.8%), intimate partner violence (16.9%), depression (39%), and problem alcohol use (15.5%). After controlling for employment, age, education, and psychosocial syndemics, participants with a one-point increase in structural syndemic indicators were found to be 1.63 times more likely to have missed a dose of ART. Conclusions: Structural syndemic were associated with ART nonadherence among BMSM+ after adjusting for demographic and psychosocial factors. HIV treatment interventions that incorporate financial incentives, legal support, and housing may help improve ART adherence among BMSM+. Findings suggest that key priorities to ending the HIV epidemic must include structural interventions that alleviate poverty, eliminate disproportionate policing and criminalization, and end homelessness.

BackgroundAdherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART) among postpartum women with HIV is essential for optimal health and prevention of perinatal transmission. However, suboptimal adherence with subsequent viremia is common, and adherence challenges are often underreported. We aimed to predict viremia to facilitate targeted adherence support in sub-Saharan Africa during this critical period.MethodsData are from PROMISE 1077BF/FF, which enrolled perinatal women between 2011 and 2014. This analysis includes postpartum women receiving ART per study randomization or country-specific criteria to continue from pregnancy. We aimed to predict viremia (single and confirmed events) after 3 months on ART at >50, >400, and >1000 copies/mL within 6-month intervals through 24 months. We built models with routine clinical and demographic data using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and SuperLearner (which incorporates multiple algorithms).ResultsAmong 1321 women included, the median age was 26 years and 96% were in WHO stage 1. Between 0 and 24 months postpartum, 42%, 31%, and 28% of women experienced viremia >50, >400, and >1000 copies/mL, respectively, at least once. Across models, the cross-validated area under the receiver operating curve ranged from 0.74 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.72 to 0.76] to 0.78 (95% CI: 0.76 to 0.80). To achieve 90% sensitivity predicting confirmed viremia >50 copies/mL, 64% of women would be classified as high risk.ConclusionsUsing routinely collected data to predict viremia in >1300 postpartum women with HIV, we achieved moderate model discrimination, but insufficient to inform targeted adherence support. Psychosocial characteristics or objective adherence metrics may be required for improved prediction of viremia in this population.

The authors sought to investigate associations between sacubitril/valsartan adherence and clinical outcomes after hospitalization for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).Sacubitril/valsartan improves outcomes in HFrEF, though the extent to which medication adherence is associated with outcomes in routine care is less well characterized.The authors analyzed patients aged ≥65 years hospitalized for HFrEF within the Get With the Guidelines-Heart Failure registry linked with Medicare claims between October 2015 and September 2018 who were discharged with sacubitril/valsartan. Sacubitril/valsartan adherence was assessed using medication fills to calculate proportion of days covered (PDC) through 90 days postdischarge. Associations between postdischarge adherence (PDC or ≥80%) and risk of readmission and death within 1 year were examined by comparing cumulative incidences and adjusted event rates.Among 897 patients prescribed sacubitril/valsartan at discharge, 295 (32.9%) had PDC ≥80% and 602 (67.1%) had PDC 80%. Baseline characteristics were balanced between groups. Compared with patients with PDC 80%, patients with PDC ≥80% had a significantly lower adjusted hazard of all-cause rehospitalization (HR: 0.66 [95% CI: 0.48-0.89]) and death (HR: 0.42 [95% CI: 0.22-0.79]) at 90 days and at 1 year (HR: 0.69 [95% CI: 0.56-0.86] and HR: 0.53 [95% CI: 0.38-0.74], respectively). For every 5 percentage point increase in PDC, patients experienced a significant reduction in rehospitalization (HR: 0.98 [95% CI: 0.97-0.99]) and death (HR: 0.96 [95% CI: 0.94-0.97]) at 1 year.In patients hospitalized for HFrEF and discharged on sacubitril/valsartan, high adherence to sacubitril/valsartan within 90 days after discharge was associated with substantially lower rates of readmission and death. Additional efforts to improve adherence with sacubitril/valsartan and other guideline-directed medical therapies in HFrEF are warranted.

BACKGROUND: Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is recommended for the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF). However, only 50%-60% of AF patients in the United States are treated with OAC, and 60% of them adhere to OAC therapy over time. OBJECTIVES: To (1) compare adherent use of OAC between AF patients who received primary care from practices involved in shared-savings models and patients who received care from practices not involved in shared savings and (2) examine the trend of adherence to OAC over time. Because OAC can save downstream medical costs associated with averted stroke events, we hypothesized that OAC adherence would be higher among patients receiving care from practices involved in shared savings. METHODS: Using 2014-2019 claims data from a health insurer in western Pennsylvania, we identified 20,637 AF patients from 2015-2018. Patients were followed from the first AF diagnosis (index date) for 12 months or until disenrollment. We categorized patients according to the payment model of the practice from which they received primary care: shared savings (n = 8,844) and no shared savings (n = 11,793). The primary outcome was adherent use of OAC therapy, which was defined as having at least 80% of the followup period covered with OAC. Secondary outcomes included adherent use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and adherent use of warfarin. We constructed logistic regression models to assess the association between involvement in shared savings and adherent use of OAC, while controlling for demographics, clinical characteristics, and index year. RESULTS: 34% of patients in the shared-savings group adhered to OAC, compared with 32.7% in the no shared-savings group (P = 0.04). After adjustment, adherence was higher for the shared-savings group for OAC (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01-1.14) and warfarin (aOR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.02-1.20) compared with the no shared-savings group. However, the odds of adherent use of DOACs did not statistically differ between shared savings and no shared savings (aOR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.91-1.08). The odds of adherent OAC use increased over time: the aOR of adherent use of OAC was 1.21 (95% CI = 1.09-1.34) for index year 2016; 1.50 (95% CI = 1.36-1.67) for 2017; and 1.78 (95% CI 1.60-1.98) for 2018, all compared with 2015. CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of primary care from a practice involved in shared savings was associated with a higher adherent use of OAC and warfarin for patients with atrial fibrillation. Furthermore, adherent use of OAC improved over time for both treatment groups. Our research demonstrates that the alignment of financial incentives between providers and insurers may improve the use of therapies with downstream cost-saving potential. DISCLOSURES: This project was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (grant number K01HL142847). Hernandez has received consulting fees from Pfizer and BMS, outside of the submitted work. The other authors have nothing to disclose.

Summary: Background: Successful and sustainable models for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery in public health systems in Africa are needed. We aimed to evaluate the implementation of PrEP delivery integrated in public HIV care clinics in Kenya. Methods: As part of Kenya's national PrEP roll-out, we conducted a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised pragmatic trial to catalyse scale-up of PrEP delivery integrated in 25 public HIV care clinics. We selected high-volume clinics in these regions (ie, those with a high number of people living with HIV enrolled in HIV care and treatment). Clinics (each representing a cluster) were stratified by region and randomly assigned to the order in which clinic staff would receive PrEP training and ongoing technical support using numbered opaque balls picked from a bag. There was no masking. PrEP provision was done by clinic staff without additional financial support. Data were abstracted from records of individuals initiating PrEP. The primary outcome was the number of people initiating PrEP per clinic per month comparing intervention to control periods. Other outcomes included PrEP continuation, adherence, and incident HIV infections. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03052010. Findings: After the baseline period, which started in January, 2017, every month two to six HIV care clinics crossed over from control to intervention, until August, 2017, when all clinics were implementing the intervention. Of 4898 individuals initiating PrEP (27 during the control period and 4871 during the intervention period), 2640 (54%) were women, the median age was 31 years (IQR 25–39), and 4092 (84%) reported having a partner living with HIV. The mean monthly number of PrEP initiations per clinic was 0·1 (SD 0·5) before the intervention and 7·5 (2·7) after intervention introduction (rate ratio 23·7, 95% CI 14·2–39·5, p

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors are at risk of financial hardships and cost-related medication nonadherence, particularly among those without adequate insurance coverage. OBJECTIVE: To examine the ass...

To determine the proportion of glaucoma patients in Ontario aged 25-64 who lack insurance coverage for glaucoma medications and to assess the frequency of cost-related nonadherence to glaucoma medications.Cross-sectional study.Glaucoma patients on medication from 2 glaucoma clinics in Toronto, Ontario.100 consecutive glaucoma patients aged 25-64 (not entitled to provincial drug benefit) and 100 consecutive glaucoma patients aged 65+ (entitled to provincial drug benefit), all on topical glaucoma therapy, completed a standardized questionnaire. Questions included insurance coverage for glaucoma medications, cost concerns when paying for glaucoma medications, cost-related nonadherence, and sociodemographics.25.8% of those aged 25-64 express concerns about the cost of their glaucoma medications compared to 7.1% of those aged 65+ (p0.001). Patients aged 25-64 were also significantly more likely to report at least one form of cost-related nonadherence (15.5% vs 2.0%, p = 0.001) and significantly more likely to report missing eye drops in a given week than patients aged 65+ (32.0% vs 16.7%, p = 0.01). 17% (95% confidence interval 11%-26%) of patients aged 25-64 self-reported having no insurance coverage for their glaucoma medications. Of those with coverage, the most common source of insurance was employer-sponsored (68.6%) with 44% requiring a copayment. The average copayment was $18 (range $2-$250) for those aged 25-64 compared with $5 in the 65+ group (range $0.62-$100).17% of glaucoma patients aged 25-64 do not have coverage for their drops. One in four expressed concerns about the cost of their glaucoma medications, and 15.5% reported cost-related nonadherence.

In this paper, we reviewed the various advanced technologies and methods that could help patients for measuring adherence of patients. There exist intelligent technologies that are available for measuring medication adherence, including medication event monitoring system (MEMS®), smart blister packs, radio frequency identification (RFID) embedded smart drawers, and wisely aware RFID dosage (WARD) system. Utilization of these advanced technologies and systems have aided in enhancing the adherence to a greater extent. For example, MEMS® refers to the electronic cap that counts the number of bottles opened, but it can be employed only with bottles. Smart blisters are pharmaceutical packagings that possess the capability of monitoring when a pill or tablet is taken out of its packing. All those intelligent technologies can help in active monitoring of patients regarding adherence and capable of eradicating various medication errors due to which adherence is affected.