Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pilot study, in a rental retirement village, of an “AdherenceCheck” on the management of medicines by the older-aged

  • Research Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background The older-aged living in a low socioeconomic, rental, retirement village have a low adherence to medicines and a poor understanding of their illnesses. MedsChecks are commonly used in Australian pharmacies in an attempt to improve the management of medicines. There is no published evidence that MedsChecks, or similar brief/single, interventions improve the management of medicines in the older-aged. Objective The objective of our study was to determine the effect of an AdherenceCheck, which is similar to a MedsCheck, but is performed in the home of the older-aged, had on the ongoing management of medicines by the older-aged living independently. Both a MedsCheck and an AdherenceCheck involves forming an individual Action Plan. Setting Rental retirement village. Method After interviewing the older-aged in the village about their management of medicines, they were given an AdherenceCheck and an Action Plan. Six months later their management of medicines and the Action Plan were (re-)evaluated. Main outcome measure Present and ongoing adherence to medicines. Results Only 15 of the original 23 participants completed the study. The AdherenceCheck with Action Plan did not significantly change the adherence to medicines of these older-aged living in the rental retirement village. Pre- to post-AdherenceCheck, there was a reduction in the percentage of participants with a good knowledge of their illnesses, and thus a corresponding significant increase in the percentage with no knowledge of their illnesses, and this may have been age related. Only 11 of the 15 participants remembered receiving an Action Plan, as part of the AdherenceCheck, and 7 of these considered that the Action Plan helped them manage their medicines. Conclusion An AdherenceCheck may not improve the management of medicines by the older-aged living in a rental retirement village. As there are no peer-reviewed publications as to whether the commonly used MedsChecks, which have some similarities to the AdherenceCheck, improve the management of medicines, it is suggested that these MedsChecks should also be formally evaluated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Doggrell SA. Adherence to medicines in the older-aged with chronic conditions: does intervention by an allied health professional help. Drugs Aging. 2010;27:239–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Doggrell SA, Kairuz T. Medicines management by the older-aged living independently in different types of retirement village. J Pharm Pract Res. 2012;42:208–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Doggrell SA. Ongoing poor management of medicines in the older-aged living independently in a rental retirement village. Int J Clin Pharm. 2015;37:1000–3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. 6th Community Pharmacy Agreement. MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck. http://6cpa.com.au/programs/medication-management-initiatives/medscheck-diabetes-medscheck/. Accessed 7 Jan 2016.

  5. Gray SL, Mahoney JE, Blough DK. Medication adherence in elderly patients received home health services following hospital discharge. Ann Pharmacother. 2001;35:539–45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Olesen C, Harbig P, Barat I, Damsgaard EM. Generic substitution does not seem to affect adherence negatively in elderly polypharmacy patients. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2013;22:1093–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Stoehr GP, Lu S-Y, Lavery L, Bilt JV, Saxton JA, Chang C-C, et al. Factors associated with adherence to medication regiments by older primary care patients: the Steel Valley Seniors Survey. Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. 2008;6:255–63.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Morisky DE, Green LW, Levine DM. Concurrent and predictive validity of a self-reported measure of medication adherence. Med Care. 1986;24:67–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. MedsCheck. http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/drugs/medscheck/resources.aspx. Accessed 11 Oct 2016.

  10. Ignacy TA, Camacho X, Mamdani MM, Juurlink DN, Paterson JM, Gomes T. Professional pharmacy services and patient complexity: an observation study. J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2015;18:863–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Dolovich L, Consiglio G, MacKeigan L, Abrahamyan L, Pechlivanoglou P, Rac VE, et al. Uptake of the MedsCheck annual medication review service in Ontario community pharmacies between 2007 and 2013. Can Pharm J (Ott). 2016;149:293–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. Medicines Use Review. http://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/advanced-services/murs/. Accessed 11 Oct 2016.

  13. Rodgers RM, Gammie SM, Loo RL, Corlett SA, Krska J. Comparison of pharmacist and public views and experiences of community pharmacy medicines-related services in England. Patient Preference Adherence. 2016;10:1749–58.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Mehos BM, Saseen JJ, MacLaughlin EJ. Effect of pharmacist intervention and initiation of home blood pressure monitoring in patients with uncontrolled blood pressure. Pharmacotherapy. 2000;20(11):1384–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Planas LG, Crosby KM, Mitchell KD, Farmer KC. Evaluation of a hypertension medication therapy management program in patients with diabetes. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2009;49:164–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Wong MCS, Liu KQL, Wang HHX, Lee CL, Kwan MW, Lee KW, et al. Effectiveness of a pharmacist-led drug counselling on enhancing antihypertensive adherence and blood pressure control: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Pharmacol. 2013;53(7):753–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Chabot I, Moisan J, Grégoire JP, Milot A. Pharmacist intervention program for control of hypertension. Ann Pharmacother. 2003;37:1186–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Pharmacy Council of New Zealand. Medicines Use Review. http://www.pharmacycouncil.org.nz/cms_show_download.php?id=289. Accessed 11 Oct 2016.

  19. Lee E, Braund R, Tordoff J. Examining the first year of Medicines Use Review services provided by pharmacists in New Zealand: 2008. N Z Med J. 2009;122:3566.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Hatah E, Tordoff J, Duffull SB, Cameron C, Braund R. Retrospective examination of selected outcomes of Medicines Use Review (MUR) services in New Zealand. Int J Clin Pharm. 2014;36:503–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Lee JK, Grace KA, Taylor AJ. Effect of a pharmacy care program on medication adherence and persistence, blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006;296(21):2563–71.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Stewart K, George J, McNamara KP, Jackson SL, Peterson GM, Bereznicki LR, et al. A multifaceted pharmacist intervention to improve antihypertensive adherence: a cluster-randomized, controlled trial (HAPPy trial). J Clin Pharm Ther. 2014;39(5):527–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Hedegaard U, Kjeldsen LJ, Pottegård A, Henriksen JE, Lambrechtsen J, Hangaard J, et al. Improving medication adherence in patients with hypertension: a randomized trial. Am J Med. 2015;128(12):1351–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Doggrell SA. Inadequate management of medicines by the older-aged living in a retirement village. Int J Clin Pharm. 2013;25:545–9.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dr Vincent Chan for undertaking the AdherenceChecks of all of participants, and to Saira Sanjida for help with the interviewing and preliminary data analysis.

Funding

School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, GPO 2434, Brisbane, QLD, 4002, Australia

    Sheila A. Doggrell

Authors
  1. Sheila A. Doggrell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheila A. Doggrell.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The author has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Doggrell, S.A. Pilot study, in a rental retirement village, of an “AdherenceCheck” on the management of medicines by the older-aged. Int J Clin Pharm 39, 443–449 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-017-0423-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-017-0423-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation