Session

Globally, it’s estimated that 30-50% of medicines prescribed for long-term illnesses are not taken as directed1. In this session, Professor John Weinman highlights key factors for non-adherence and how behavioral science, combined with digital tools, may help remedy this issue. Prof. Weinman emphasized the need to raise awareness of the depth of non-adherence to medicines…

my a:care is Abbott’s latest mobile application to support a patient’s adherence to medication through reminders, encouragement, and accountability, and by providing health information. my a:care app motivates behavior change by using attainable, measurable goals and easy to follow behavior changes rooted in established intervention methodology. Hear more about how my a:care app can improve a…

Medication adherence may be simple for acute, short-term diseases, but adherence becomes more difficult for chronic conditions when patients may not immediately realize the benefit of a treatment or intervention. Adherence is similarly difficult in patients with silent disorders, like hypertension, dyslipidemia or diabetes who are at risk of serious, life-threatening complications like stroke or heart…

Non-adherence in women’s health can result in unintended pregnancies and poor management of menopause symptoms. Women may not use, adhere to, or discontinue contraception because of side effects, a “bad image” or simply forgetting to take it. As for menopause, which can afflict a woman for more than one-third of her life, women may forego…

With antimicrobials, non-adherence affects more than the individual patient1—it also drives treatment-resistant pathogens2. To keep antimicrobials alive, physicians must help their patients adhere to their medication, said Prof. Giamarellos-Bourboulis, who examined the barriers to antibiotic use and adherence and how to overcome them. To improve adherence, physicians must continue their education on the topic and leverage…

Though it’s easy to grasp why asymptomatic patients may be non-adherent, healthcare providers may be perplexed by non-adherence in patients who suffer from unpleasant symptoms. A 2021 study found that 45% of such patients were taking insufficient doses of their treatment despite experiencing symptoms ranging from irritating to incapacitating. “Adherence often goes unrecognized. We think…

Before we can manage and improve medication adherence in chronic conditions, we must first measure it, said Prof. Bernard Vrijens. Patients on long-term therapy need to adhere to treatment 80% of the time for it to work best, but this benchmark doesn’t tell the whole story., Vrijens added. Different patients could be reaching 80% in…

Adherence can vary between patients or within the same patient over time and across treatments1. Prof. Rob Horne emphasized that non-adherence is a variable behavior, not a trait cemented into a patient’s personality. Horne commented: “We assume if we inform the patient and if they have the correct knowledge, then action will follow, but 50%…