Adherence compliance and concordance

Most women at risk of breast cancer decline preventive treatment

Five out of six women at high risk of breast cancer decline preventive medication, and those who opt for treatment often fail to take the drugs for long enough for them to have the full effect, according to the findings of a meta-analysis.…

Negative media coverage about statins may lead patients to stop therapy early

Negative press coverage about statins has been linked to patients deciding to stop taking their statin therapy too early, researchers warn.…

Devising ways to improve medicines adherence

There are many reasons why patients do not take their medicines as prescribed. Discovering the specific cause of non-adherence is the best way to improve it.…

What I learnt from running a pharmacy focus group

Pharmacy PhD student Adam Pattison Rathbone felt left out at his own focus group. Here, he describes what he learnt from the experience.…

Fewer antibiotics prescribed when doctors share decision with patients

Fewer antibiotic prescriptions are issued for acute respiratory infections when doctors share decision making with patients, according to a review published by the Cochrane Library on 12 November 2015.…

Blister packs for Alzheimer’s drugs to be redesigned to reduce confusion for patients

The blister packs of drugs for people with Alzheimer’s disease will, from summer 2016, be marked with days of the week in order to reduce confusion when patients take their medicine, the UK medicines safety regulator has announced.…

Identifying those with poor asthma control

People with poor asthma control may not always attend asthma review appointments and community pharmacists could help find them.…

‘Digital pill’ assessed for approval by FDA

A drug embedded with a digital sensor that records when a patient’s stomach is ingesting the medicine is being assessed for approval by the US medicines safety watchdog.…

Electronic medication boxes improve adherence in TB patients

A large study in China looked at how effective text message reminders were compared with electronic medicine boxes at getting patients to take their drugs and found the latter to be far superior.…

Chief pharmacists: pharmacy’s future is ‘clinical and digital’

The pharmacy workforce must embrace clinical practice in the next few years amid advancements in medical and dispensing technologies, according to the UK’s chief pharmaceutical officers.…