Medication Adherence
Let's work together to improve the health outcomes of our members
One of Keystone First's goals is an effort to increase our members' medication adherence. According to a December 2012 report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, "non-adherence has been estimated to cost the U.S. health care system between $100 billion and $289 billion annually," and to be the cause for at least 10 percent of all hospitalizations.
We are exploring numerous ways to impact medication non-adherence including member outreach and education, as well as collaboration and support with our providers. We have arranged for home delivery of medications to our members. See the FREE Home Delivery section of this resources page for more information.
The aim of our Every Day Matters campaign is to educate members about the benefits of taking their daily medications and steps they can take to maintain adherence. We have put tools and programs in place to help providers identify members who are struggling to adhere to your care plan. Among these tools are the NaviNet care gap alerts and the Let Us Know program. For more information, please see visit the resources section of this page.
We are targeting four classes of medications typically associated with chronic diseases:
- Asthma controllers
- Oral hypoglycemics
- Antihypertensives
- Statins
Keep it SIMPLE!
The American College of Preventative Medicine recommends this SIMPLE technique to help foster medication adherence:
-
S - Simplify the regimen
- Adjust timing, frequency, amount and dosage
- Match regimen to patient's activities of daily living
- I - Impart knowledge
- Provide all prescription instructions clearly in writing and verbally
- M - Modify patient beliefs and behavior
- Have patients restate the positive benefits of taking their medications
- Address fears and concerns
- P - Provide communication and trust
- Use plain language
- Provide emotional support
- L - Leave the bias
- Understand health literacy and how it affects outcomes
- E - Evaluate adherence
- Ask about adherence behavior at every visit
- Periodically review patient's medication containers, noting renewal dates
For further details on this technique please view the CDC medication adherence slide show.
Resources
- Pharmacies that provide FREE home delivery (PDF)
- Keystone First's Let Us Know program
- Pharmacy gaps in care specification documents
- Drug adherence linked to communication
- Why patients dislike taking medicine and how to promote adherence
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention Medication Adherence Initiative