Nonadherence
to medication treatment regimens is a major preventable risk behavior
in both acute and chronic diseases. Community pharmacists are
facilitators in community care for promoting medication adherence
and they should implement interdisciplinary medication adherence
programs. To do so, pharmacists should be educated in medication
adherence, and new pharmaceutical care policies should be implemented.
The healthcare system should evolve to better meet the specific
needs of patients.
Aims: this article describes what has been undertaken in the last
decade in medication adherence in terms of education, research,
practice and policy in Switzerland.
Methods: Medline was searched, with the search limited to Switzerland.
The three Swiss pharmacy schools were also contacted to collect
information about the medication adherence content of both their
courses and research programs. National policies related to medication
adherence were also reviewed for relevant content.
Results: Education: two pharmacy schools offer courses devoted
specifically to medication adherence. The number of hours dedicated
to the topic varies between 4 to13. Research: a total of 16 studies
met the inclusion criteria. Chronic patients were the focus of
9 studies. Medication adherence was the primary outcome of all
studies; 10 studies also measured clinical outcomes. Nine studies
evaluated the prevalence of medication nonadherence; three studies
evaluated the feasibility of new technologies for monitoring adherence;
three studies evaluated medication adherence enhancing programs.
Policies: three cognitive pharmaceutical services are reimbursed
by healthcare insurers, which are directly related to medication
adherence.
Conclusions: Pharmacists in Switzerland have been actively involved
in medication adherence research since the mid ’90s. Specific
medication adherence courses have entered the curriculum of pharmacy
schools, and policies in Switzerland are slowly beginning to meet
needs of chronic patients by the introduction of pharmaceutical
cognitive services and reimbursement fees.
