Study: Online Rx refills can improve adherence

OAKLAND, Calif. — A new study by healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente’s research division published in the Journal of the American Informatics Association is highlighting the positive effects online prescription refills have on adherence.

The study looked at Kaiser Permanente patients with diabetes using the company’s online My Health Manager portal and their adherence to a statin once they started using the portal’s online refill feature. Those who refilled their statin prescription consistently had a 4% adherence increase — a change that held up across racial and ethnic groups. Though the patients in the study were largely older, those who used the tool most were slightly younger, and were using it more frequently early on in the study.

But the increase in adherence can be seen as substantial, given that members of all racial and ethnic minority groups have a lower baseline adherence rate than white patients, according to Kaiser Permanente data.

“Improving medication adherence has been a longstanding public health challenge, and racial/ethnic minorities have been particularly vulnerable to the barriers to adherence,” Kaiser Permanente Division of Research scientist and the study’s senior author Andrew Karter said. “This study suggests that health care systems might experience modest improvements in medication adherence among their patients simply by offering the option of refilling online.”

Adherence continues to be one of the largest challenges facing the health care system — not just in terms of providing positive outcomes for patients, but also in terms of cost. A recent study from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services noted that poor adherence costs the system between $100 billion and $300 billion annually, with it playing a role in 125,000 deaths.

“Our findings are consistent with other studies that suggest providing tools for health care management, such as online refills, can help improve health behavior such as medication adherence,” lead author Courtney Lyles said. “While the consistent benefit in medication adherence across racial and ethnic groups in this study is promising, we also need to better understand the reasons for differences in use of online portals across groups to help promote a more uniform use of these health technologies and tools.”