Patient Prefer Adher
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Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Patient attitudes towards a new role for pharmacists: continued dispensing.
In Australia, "continued dispensing" (CD) is a new model for supply of prescription medications. Under specific circumstances, community pharmacists are allowed to dispense a further one month supply of prescription only medications without a valid prescription. It allows continuation and treatment adherence when patients run out of statin and/or oral contraceptive (OC) medications, when it is not practical or they fail to plan accordingly to get a new prescription. ⋯ Australian users of statin and OC medications showed a high level of support for CD. Given that a significant proportion of patients temporarily stopped treatment when they ran out of medications and had no valid prescription, implementation of CD may alleviate the negative consequences of therapy interruption in statin and OC users in the short term. Longer-term solutions and opportunities to expand CD require further exploration.
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Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Cancer-associated thrombosis, low-molecular-weight heparin, and the patient experience: a qualitative study.
Venous thromboembolism is a common complication of cancer and its treatments. Treatment of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) differs from treatment of thrombosis in noncancer patients, requiring a daily injection of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for 6 months instead of an oral anticoagulant. Previous research suggested LMWH is an acceptable intervention in the treatment of CAT, yet clinical practice and therapeutic opportunities have changed in the decade since the study was conducted. Furthermore, in the previous study there was acknowledged selection bias in participant recruitment. There is increasing clinical use of the novel oral anticoagulants, although their efficacy and safety is yet to be demonstrated within the cancer population. The experience of patients receiving anticoagulation for CAT will inform future practice with respect to quality of life and adherence to anticoagulation therapy. ⋯ Although LMWH remains an acceptable intervention for the treatment of CAT, its long-term use is associated with bruising and deterioration of injection sites. These are considered an acceptable trade-off against their strongly negative experiences of symptomatic venous thromboembolism.
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Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Patient perspectives on switching disease-modifying therapies in the NARCOMS registry.
The evolving landscape of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis raises important questions about why patients change DMTs. Physicians and patients could benefit from a better understanding of the reasons for switching therapy. ⋯ Participants frequently initiated the discussion regarding changing DMT, although physician recommendations regarding the specific therapy were still weighed highly. Long-term follow-up of these participants will provide valuable information on their disease trajectory, satisfaction with, and effectiveness of their new medication.
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Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Health state utilities associated with adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
With growing awareness of the importance of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment, cost-effectiveness analyses, including utilities, are needed to compare the value of treatment options. Although utilities have been reported for childhood ADHD, little is known about utilities representing adult ADHD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate utilities associated with adult ADHD. ⋯ The current study provides utilities that may be used in cost-utility models of treatment for adult ADHD. Results reflected clear differences between health states representing treatment responders and nonresponders/untreated patients. Current utilities were comparable to those previously reported for childhood ADHD.
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Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
An evaluation of patients' adherence with hypoglycemic medications among Papua New Guineans with type 2 diabetes: influencing factors.
The aims of this study were to evaluate the extent of adherence to hypoglycemic medications, assess the relationship between adherence and glycemic control, and evaluate factors affecting adherence. ⋯ This study showed a significant level of nonadherence among patients with type 2 diabetes in Papua New Guinea. Nonadherence to medication appeared to be associated with poor glycemic control and was due to a variety of reasons. Future interventions aimed at improving adherence will need to take these into account.