Publication:

Assessment of medication adherence using medication adherence rating scale-5 in patients with major non-communicable diseases at tertiary care hospital

Background To assess the medication adherence using medication adherence rating scale (MARS-5) for achieving good clinical outcomes in patients with major non-communicable chronic diseases who are undergoing long-term therapy and to compare the adherence between adult and geriatric patients based on patient counselling.

Methods A Prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, Raja Muthiah Medical College Hospital (RMMCH), Chidambaram, India over a period of 6 months. Patient details were collected using self-designed patient proforma. Patients’ medication adherence was assessed using MARS-5 and patients were counselled regarding drug use with the help of pictograms and daily monitoring sheet.

Results A total of 150 patients were enrolled in the study out of which 77 were adults and 73 were from the geriatric population. 65.33% were affected with comorbid conditions. Non-compliance was mainly due to forgetfulness, lack of assistance in the elderly population, polypharmacy and also due to failing to refill prescriptions. Nearly half of the population about 40% showed poor adherence before patient counselling and was reduced to 13.33% after proper patient counselling. And the medication adherence was found to be more among the adults 90.90% when compared to the geriatric population 82.19%.

Conclusions A new approach through pharmaceutical care was implemented; it mainly aims in delivering information regarding the importance of therapy in non-communicable chronic illness and also on the non-therapeutic considerations. It also focuses in conveying the importance of their lives to their families and to the society, thereby improving the adherence to medicine.