Drug adherence poor in osteoporosis
Health care professionals’ perception of how well patients adhere to osteoporosis treatment regimens may be quite different from the actual situation, a new report suggests.
“The real facts of life in osteoporosis”, published by the National
Osteoporosis Society, includes data from a questionnaire showing that
69 per cent of specialist rheumatology nurses believe that patients adhere
well to osteoporosis treatment regimens. However, the report highlights
data showing that 77 per cent of patients taking a once-daily bisphosphonate
stop taking their treatment within a year, as do almost two-thirds of
patients taking the drug once a week. The report says that compared with
non-adherent patients with osteoporosis, adherent patients have a reduction
in fracture rates of 16–23 per cent.
The report states: “There is an urgent need for greater clinician-patient
communication of the benefits of long-term adherence to therapies for
the treatment of osteoporosis.”
Joanne Shaw, director of Medicines Partnership, commented: “The
key to effective use of medicines is reaching informed agreement between
health professionals and patients about the treatment to be followed.
This requires good information about the risks and benefits of treatment
and the risks of non-treatment. Research shows that patients are not
always informed of treatment options or asked for their opinion when
decisions are made. Once informed agreement has been reached, many patients
also need ongoing support for medicine-taking.” She added: “Medication
review is key to this.” |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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