CVS Caremark study notes lack of adherence to cholesterol-lowering medications
WOONSOCKET, R.I. More than 50% of adults under the age of 45 who are prescribed a medication to treat high cholesterol are not taking their medication as prescribed, according to the findings of a study released Thursday by CVS Caremark.
In fact, the study found that 58% of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are not taking their cholesterol-lowering medications as prescribed.
The study examined adherence to cholesterol-lowering medications by evaluating de-identified data for more than 74,000 adult patients from the CVS Caremark Health Management Claims Database who incurred claims from a cholesterol-lowering medication between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2008.
They study found that 42% of patients between the ages of 18 and 34 were optimally adherent to their medications with a medication possession ratio of greater than 80%. In addition, among those patients ages 35 to 44, half were identified as optimally adherent to their high cholesterol medication.
Medication possession ratio is the standard statistic used to measure medication adherence via pharmacy chains.
“This data illustrates that younger adults with high cholesterol are not taking their medication as prescribed, putting them at increased risk for developing heart disease, worsening their long term clinical outcomes and ultimately increasing the cost of their care,” stated Troyen A. Brennan, EVP and chief medical officer for CVS Caremark. “CVS Caremark engages plan participants with chronic diseases, such as high cholesterol, by addressing barriers to evidence-based care. We engage patients in their care early in the process by providing disease and therapy education and help them improve medication adherence through proactive intervention and outreach.”
To help patients adhere to their medication, CVS Caremark has developed the Proactive Pharmacy Care approach, which engages patients earlier with education and personalized outreach to improve adherence. The Adherence to Care solution is a mail and retail-based program designed to impact patient behavior through timely interventions that include face-to-face, first fill counseling; IVR and Web refill reminders, renewals and pick-up prompts; and personalized letters about the importance of staying on a prescribed therapy sent to those patients who have stopped filling a maintenance prescription and their healthcare provider.
According to CVS Caremark, the Adherence to Care program has been shown to help increase adherence to high cholesterol therapies with those members under 45 years of age who participate in the program experiencing a medication possession ratio increase of more than 9%.