1. White Paper #4:
Adhere Or Disappear
By the end of this year, millions of currently un(der)insured will be flooding into the US healthcare
system. This influx may include patients with undertreated and pre-existing conditions, and with
limited education on how to manage their diseases. A real challenge for organizations that live
by and get measured by evidence-based performance achievements.
More than one in six adults with either high cholesterol or hypertension have no health insurance
coverage. Among nonelderly adults with high cholesterol, the condition was uncontrolled for
approximately 80% of those with no health insurance, compared with about 60% of those with
private or public health insurance (NHANES, 2011).
We are in for a wild ride. Providers, payers, pharmaceuticals, patients, patient advocates and
caregivers, public at large...turn your attention to adherence, more so than ever!
What are some options to ensure even a slight upswing in national adherence percentages?
How do we offset the inexperience in medication management from some of the newly entering
healthcare exchange patients?
1. Simplify your messaging. You can call it 5th grade reading level messaging, or name it
health literate communication. Make your calls to action stand out, so that they are easily
understood and can be executed in a streamlined way, 1-2-3.
2. As you dabble in social media, provide an analog, old-fashioned educational presence.
Ensure pharmacy-delivered instructional programs, provide the caregiver and the extended
family with knowledge and insights. Awaken your multicultural sensitivity and listen closely to
the needs of the various sub-populations in the US
3. Research your audience. Establish the attitudinal/behavioral drivers and barriers of (non-)
adherence. Medication compliance and persistence result from a chain of cognitive and
emotional processes, such as knowledge gathering, expectation (re)setting, and motivating
4. Make it simple for patients to remember their regimens. The number of concomitant
medications a given patient takes can be difficult to track throughout the day. Trackers with
built-in drug-drug interaction and other intelligent rules can help manage
5. Make it simple to renew prescriptions. Selected pharmacy chains in the US allow for easy
refills through QR coding. Patients with QR code-reading devices can download the chain’s
app, point, click and the prescription is delivered to their house, monthly or as a 90-day refill
This list is not a 1 to 5 quick fix for a pervasive problem across many initially asymptomatic
disease areas. The repercussions of non-adherence are different for all of us, but one thing is
clear….adhere or disappear. Happy to help you strategize…
Adhere Or Disappear. For more information, contact The DataMine Inc.
Barbara R. Haimowitz, PhD | 646.207.5059 | BarbAnalysis1@gmail.com
Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), 2011