The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7351 p641
28 May 2005

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Calendar packs improve compliance with treatment

Distributing medicines in blister packs rather than in bottles may increase the likelihood of them being taken correctly, a study of 88 patients aged 65 years or older suggests.

Researchers found that patients taking lisinopril were more likely to have repeat prescriptions dispensed on time if the medicine came in a blister package clearly stating the day on which to take each tablet rather than in a bottle.

Diastolic blood pressure was reduced in 48 per cent of the patients who used the blister pack, compared with 18 per cent of those who received bottles. The findings were presented last week at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Washington.