"Increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments." (WHO)*
RB, Ackloo E, Sahota N, McDonald HP, Yao X. Interventions for enhancing medication adherence. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(2):CD000011
One of the greatest challenges faced by healthcare professionals is medication adherence. Adherence can potentially mean the difference between a patient surviving and seeing their condition deteriorate. Despite tremendous effort made in recent years to find a solution to the problem, 20% to 80% of patients who are supposed to take medication are non-adherent.1-3 Studies have demonstrated that 50% of patients on long-term therapy are non-adherent after one year.4-7 These high rates of non-adherence can be attributed to the complexity of the phenomenon of adherence.
This is why Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacy offers a wide range of solutions and support services to enhance patient adherence to their medication.
PATIENT EDUCATION
Patient education to support self-management is an essential strategy for improving medication adherence. Rx Connect provides all patients a structured, evidence-based education program at the time of diagnosis, with a scheduled update and review based on the condition and patient
SELF MANAGEMENT
Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacists assist patients by identifying barriers that hinder medication adherence. Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacist(s) will develop a self-management assessment which considers socioeconomic constraints, issues around cognition, physical impairment, mental health, health literacy, location and access to services that impact adherence. Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacy will support the patient by:
- Identify patient treatment
- Monitor and counsel on symptoms or adverse events
- Review and monitor a plan of care
- Support in activities that protect and promote health outcomes
- Understanding the patient’s condition
PATIENT EMPOWERMENT
Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacy will educate and guide patients to gain control over their therapy in order to enhance medication adherence. Our team will use measures, simple as asking the patient what time of day is best for them to take their medication. Using this approach can have an immense impact on the patient adherence, diagnosis, treatment and safety.
FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS
Patient financial status can pose a considerable burden on starting and maintaining medication adherence. At Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacy we will navigate on behalf of the patient to maximize coverage and reduce the Out of Pocket Expenses so patient s have access to therapy.
ADVERSE EFFECTS
Adverse effects presents a significant concern for patients when it comes to medication adherence. Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacist(s) counsel each and every patient on the potential adverse effects, the likelihood of their occurrence and the action to take if they do occur.
REFILL REMINDERS
Rx Connects Specialty Pharmacy assists and supports medication adherence by managing patient prescription refills. Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacy uses innovative tools for patient to fill prescriptions online via our FREE reminder service, which allows patients a peace of mind.
INNOVATION
Rx Connect Specialty Pharmacy utilizes innovative tools to improve healthcare and patient adherence through an extensive health management platform that is integrated with our pharmacy software platform, app and generates analytical summary reports for healthcare professionals that are patient specific. All our adherence measure require a collaborative care with our interdisciplinary team, none of the above approaches work in isolation. To dramatically improve medication adherence across the patient population, Rx Connect uses these strategies together in a holistic approach that focuses on the patients throughout their healthcare journey.