"Medication non-adherence may be one of the largest public health challenges faced by the US healthcare system in terms of cost, safety, and patients’ well-being," says Dr. Hayden Bosworth, Professor of Medicine in GIM. He and Dr. Leah Zullig, Assistant Professor of Medicine in GIM, published an article last week in NEJM Catalyst entitled, "Engaging Patients to Optimize Medication Adherence".
In this publication, Bosworth and Zulllig discuss the challenges associated with medication non-adherence, describe potential factors that contribute to this public health problem, and explore possible solutions that may help move the needle toward greater medication adherence. The article also explains five dimensions of adherence, highlighted in the image below. Click here to read.
"There is no universal solution to improve adherence. However, growing evidence suggests that combining approaches that are tailored to address a patient’s specific adherence barriers or challenges may equip patients with the understanding and tools they need."
NEJM Catalyst is an online resource that was created in 2015 by The New England Journal of Medicine. It has gained popularity as a free weekly e-newsletter on critical issues facing healthcare today. The article by Bosworth and Zullig was featured March 29, 2017, on the home page of Catalyst and on their Patient Engagement theme page. We will see Catalyst promoting it in their weekly newsletter, as well as social media.