Weekly Comment 15 Feb 16 : Supporting antidepressant adherence
February 15, 2016
Suboptimal medicine use as a
barrier to successfully treating a
medical condition is something
all pharmacists are familiar with.
The story is no different when it
comes to clinical depression. Non-adherence
and poor adherence
to antidepressant medicines are
common and impact on long-term
health outcomes including risk of
relapse and recurrence.
There are many reasons why a
patient might be non-adherent to
their antidepressant, including fear
of addiction, stigma associated
with antidepressants or thinking
the medicine is no longer needed
because they feel better. These
reasons highlight the importance
of regularly asking questions to
gauge a patient’s perception and
knowledge of their condition,
medicines and treatment.
Pharmacists should consider
each episode of care as an
opportunity to discuss concerns,
provide education and encourage
strategies that promote
adherence. Strategies that might
be helpful could include keeping
a medicines list (paper, online or
smartphone app), information
to manage side effects,
dosage reminder systems and
administration aids that assist with
polypharmacy.
Creating prompts in dispensing
software can assist with follow
up and facilitate ongoing quality
use of medicines. Having targeted
written information and resources
on hand to support verbal
counselling may also be useful.
This week’s contributor is Lynn Weekes, CEO of NPS MedicineWise.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 Feb 16To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 15 Feb 16
