NACDS Foundation encouraging research on problem of primary medication nonadherence

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation is inviting health and pharmacy experts and other researchers to join the Herculean effort to improve patient adherence rates.

The invitation comes in the form of a new Request for Proposal, issued Tuesday by the NACDS Foundation. The foundation is seeking bids from research organizations to study primary medication nonadherence, which occurs when a patient fails to fill or pick up his or her newly prescribed medication.

To that end, the group has set aside funding for qualified researchers to measure PMN rates, and to develop, test and evaluate the effectiveness of PMN interventions in the pharmacy setting.

“The NACDS Foundation’s Request for Proposal seeks to examine primary medication nonadherence rates, and ways in which the healthcare system — through the collaborative integration, engagement and intervention of pharmacists, physicians and other healthcare providers, and the proper and effective use of health information technology — can be utilized to improve overall patient health outcomes and medication adherence rates,” said NACDS Foundation president Edith Rosato.

NACDS called medication nonadherence “a patient crisis and multibillion-dollar healthcare problem in the United States.” Citing a study from the New England Healthcare Institute, the foundation noted, “When a patient does not fill or properly take [his or her] prescribed medications correctly it leads to dangerous complications, emergency room visitations and hospital admissions — needlessly costing more than $290 billion annually.”

According to a recent peer-reviewed study, U.S. patients failed to even pick up nearly 1-in-4 newly prescribed medications. “This trend was especially prevalent among patients with chronic disease, such as hypertension and diabetes,” NACDS noted.

All proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on March 15.