Supporting patients with medicines adherence

In this issue, we have a focus on medicines adherence, with a research round-up on the subject and an article looking at patients taking inhaled therapies for asthma and COPD.

It is known that addressing non-adherence is vital within the NHS, and as a review found in 2023, clinician recognition of the problem is low. Rickles et al (2023) highlighted 25 tool characteristics (descriptions, parameters and diseases, measures and validity comparators, and other information), that clinicians might consider when selecting a self-reported adherence tool with strong measurement validity that is practical to administer to patients. There was much variability about the nature and extent of adherence measurement. They concluded that there is a need to ensure that adherence tool developers establish a key list of tool characteristics to report to help clinicians and researchers make practical comparisons among tools.

Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2009) on the subject states that health professionals should adapt their consultation style to the needs of individuals so that all patients have the opportunity to be involved in decisions about their medicines at the level they wish. It recommends that health professionals establish the most effective way of communicating with each patient and, if necessary, consider ways of making information accessible and understandable (for example, using pictures, symbols, large print, different languages, an interpreter or a patient advocate). Patients should also be offered information that is relevant to their condition, possible treatments and personal circumstances, and that is easy to understand and free from jargon.