• Javier González-Bueno, María Dolores Vega-Coca, Aitana Rodríguez-Pérez, María Dolores Toscano-Guzmán, Concepción Pérez-Guerrero, and Bernardo Santos-Ramos.
• Unidad de Gestión Clínica de Farmacia, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, España. Electronic address: javigbueno@gmail.com.
• Aten Primaria. 2016 Feb 1; 48 (2): 121-30.

ObjectiveTo assess the available scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of interventions aimed to enhance medication adherence in patients with multiple chronic conditions (PMCC).DesignOverview of systematic reviews.Data SourcesThe following databases were consulted (September 2013): Pubmed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CRD and WoS to identify interventions aimed to enhance medication adherence in PMCC, or otherwise, patients with chronic diseases common in the PMCC, or polypharmacy.Study SelectionSystematic reviews of clinical trials focused on PMCC or similar were included. They should compare the efficacy of any intervention aimed to improve compliance to prescribed and self-administered medications with clinical practice or other interventions.Data ExtractionInformation about the study population, nature of intervention and efficacy in terms of improved adherence was extracted.Results566 articles were retrieved of which 9 systematic reviews were included. None was specifically focused on PMCC but considered patients with chronic diseases common in the PMCC, patients with more than one chronic disease and polypharmacy. The overall effectiveness of interventions was modest without relevant differences between behavioural, educational and combined interventions. Some components of these interventions including patient counselling and regimen simplification appear to be effective tools in improving adherence in this population group.ConclusionThere is a large heterogeneity of interventions aimed to improve adherence with modest efficacy, none in PMCC.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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