WOONSOCKET, R.I., Dec. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — A new
study that reviews more than four decades of medical journal
articles about the impact of health information technology (HIT)
and electronic communications on medication adherence concludes
that while there is evidence to suggest that simple electronic
reminders are an effective and low-cost means to improve adherence,
there are few studies that show how HIT can be leveraged to more
thoughtfully engage or motivate patients to take medications as
prescribed.
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The study was published this week in the American Journal of
Managed Care and is the result of a research partnership
between Harvard University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and CVS
Caremark – a three-year collaboration focused on developing a
better understanding of patient behavior, particularly around
medication adherence.
According to the researchers, the study findings “highlight the
disappointing state of evidence on a topic of substantial health
importance.” The researchers concluded that as the U.S. “invests
substantially in the broad implementation of HIT, innovative
adherence interventions built on the capabilities of HIT are
essential and must be rigorously tested to identify applicable best
practices.”
Researchers reviewed more than 7,000 articles published between
1966 and 2010 that discussed the use of HIT for treating
cardiovascular disease and diabetes. After screening out articles
that did not address how electronic communications can promote
adherence, only 13 articles warranted full review.
“Despite the paucity of data, this review suggests that HIT
interventions are promising tools in the fight to improve
medication adherence,” said William H. Shrank, MD, MSHS, of Brigham
and Women’s Hospital and Harvard, and the senior author of the
studies. “While there have been many studies on the subject of
boosting adherence, we
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