Improving Adherence to Antidepressant Medication
Medscape: Ask the Experts about Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia. Posted Sept 20, 2006
The Question & The Response
In answering the query, “Many of my patients, especially those with depression, don’t take their medication consistently. How can I increase their adherence,” Michael E. Thase, MD, recites the requisite noncompliance litany (e.g., noncompliance is common, side-effects are one reason for non-adherence, etc) accurately and clearly, but, by my lights, the most pertinent and tellilng point he makes is the following:
Although asking about the regularity of dosing sounds like a standard of pharmacologic monitoring, in my experience, physicians do not ask their patients about their medication adherence nearly as often as they should.
My experience is congruent and I have been struck by the dearth of research that would support or refute this contention. One wonders if, as Dr. Thase and I believe, many patients are not asked about adherence, compliance might not improve somewhat as the consequence of the topic being broached without any other enhancements.
