Patient Compliance With Medication Prescribed In Emergency Department Visits
Primary Source: Non-Adherence with Emergency Discharge Prescriptions Corinne Hohl, Riyad Abu-Laban, Peter Zed, Boris Sobolev, Jeff Brubacher, Gina Tsai, Patricia Kretz, Kevin Nemethy, Jan Jaap Bijlsma and Roy Purssell. Acad Emerg Med Volume 14, 5 Supplement 1 194-195.
The Study
1965 Emergency Department patients were screened; 301 of those discharged with a prescription, agreed to participate, and follow-up was successful in 257. Two weeks post-discharge, a provincial prescription dispensing database was used to determine if prescriptions had been filled. Ninety-one patients (35.3%) were non-adherent with 1 or more medications.
The most frequent diagnoses were skin and soft tissue infections, back pain and urinary tract infection. The most common prescriptions were for acetaminophen with codeine (27.2%), ciprofloxacin (8.2%) and cephalexin (6.2%).
Regression modeling indicated a trend towards increasing non-adherence with the prescription of 2 or more medications but not with studied socioeconomic factors.
Non-adherence to medication was associated with a trend towards increased ED revisits.
Commentary
It is worth noting that the non-adherence rate in this study was calculated from a review of filled and unfilled prescriptions; i.e., ninety-one patients (35.3%) did not fill the prescriptions given them in the Emergency Department, establishing a minimum noncompliance rate of 35%. It is overwhelmingly likely that some of those who did have their prescription(s) filled were also noncompliant.
This study is yet another indication that the “common sense” conclusion that noncompliance is less likely when the treatment is for a disorder which is severe or acute. These patients were concerned enough about their health problems to visit an Emergency Department, yet a substantial number (at least 35%) did not follow through with the prescribed medication.
Prescription Information Not Given In Patient's Language »
Related Posts:
