Non-adherence to medication by patients with cardiovascular diseases has been associated with increased mortality and hospital admissions, and the cost of unwanted medicines in the UK is estimated to exceed £100m each year.
In a study, published in the current issue of the
European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (2014;21:238–244), UK researchers performed a systematic review of randomised controlled trials that investigated the effect of pharmacy service interventions on medicines adherence and cardiovascular outcomes, with the aim of identifying which interventions could best be used in daily practice.
The researchers conclude that multi-component interventions that include personal contact or counselling by a pharmacist can be effective in enhancing adherence and improving outcomes, but suggest that the frequency of contact required for these interventions to be adapted to work in practice needs to be examined.
