WASHINGTON, May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Harvard
University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and CVS Caremark today
outlined their findings on the issue of medication adherence and
made recommendations for how their research to date can be used to
help improve the way pharmacy care is delivered in the U.S.
The research collaboration between these groups was announced
in the fall of 2009 and was showcased today at a forum at the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C. marking the half-way point
in the three-year-initiative.
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In addition to reviewing results to date, the research team
leaders urged regulators and legislators to renew their focus on
making sure people take their medications as directed by their
physicians as a way to improve the quality of care and reduce costs
for caring for the chronically ill. Annual excess health care
costs due to medication non-adherence in the U.S. have been
estimated to be as much as $300 billion annually.
“When we began, we knew our research would expand the science of
pharmacy care,” said Troyen A. Brennan, MD, MPH executive vice
president and chief medical officer of CVS Caremark, who heads the
research initiative. “The more we studied the topic, the more we
realized that there are steps our industry can take today to
improve the rates at which people take their medicines. This is
important work because we know if we can improve medication
adherence rates, we have a unique opportunity to improve the
quality and lower the cost of health care.”
“Not surprisingly, we learned there is no single answer to
solving the puzzle of adherence, even though this problem has been
recognized for decades. But there are practices we can improve upon
and programs we can implement that can have an impact. That work
can start today,” said William H. Shran
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