Therapeutic Adherence
Adherence with controller therapy is the cornerstone of long-term asthma treatment. Multiple studies have reported that nonadherence is common not only in clinical practice but also in clinical trials. Because patient adherence to therapeutics is a fundamental factor in determining asthma outcomes, patient adherence measures are essential to differentiate poor asthma control owing to nonadherence from treatment-resistant asthma. In clinical studies, accurate measures of patient adherence demonstrate the degree to which nonadherence contributes to therapeutic failure. Asthma adherence is most commonly measured in clinical research by a self report survey or diary, medication measurement (dose or pill counting), electronic medication monitors or pharmacy refill data. In clinical trials, self-reports should be used in combination with more valid measures of adherence. Electronic pharmacy records can yield a wealth of data on asthma patients' patterns of adherence based on refill data and can be useful in characterizing patients individually or as a group.
Expert Rev Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes Res. 2011;11(4):447-453. © 2011 Expert Reviews Ltd.
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