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Hypertension: Increase identification, education, and referral of Arkansans with high blood pressure through a team-based care approach

Monitor individuals with hypertension who receive services at ADH for medication adherence

Current Value

100.0%

2018

Definition

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Story Behind the Curve

Each year, heart disease accounts for roughly 125,000 preventable deaths--many of which result from patients failing to take life-saving medication. In fact, studies suggest that patients with poor medication adherence have up to four times greater risk of stroke and death than those who take medications as prescribed.

Key factors affect medication adherence.

  1. Socioeconomic status: Patients with lower income and education, many of which are minorities, are less likely to take prescribed medication as those with higher socioeconomic status.
  2. Medication itself: Patients are less likely to adhere to treatment if it has unwanted side effects or involves a complex regimen.
  3. Health care system and the type of care patients receive: Patients that have a strong understanding of their condition and treatment plan and have a supportive care team are more likely to adhere to prescribed therapy.
  4. Medical conditions like depression and other factors such as vision, mobility and alcohol abuse: These conditions can often get in the way of taking medication as directed, especially over a long period of time.

Medication Adherence Remains Challenging for Heart Patients, CardioSmart American College of Cardiology: https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2017/12/Medication-Adherence-Remains-Challenging-for-Heart-Patients

Partners

  • ADH Local Public Health
  • Local pharmacies

What Works

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has teamed up with many health organizations to improve medication adherence. Together, these organizations have come up with a number of strategies to improve medication adherence, such as making generic drugs more readily available, increasing health literacy among patients and addressing health disparities in minorities and low-income populations.

Medication Adherence Remains Challenging for Heart Patients, CardioSmart American College of Cardiology: https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2017/12/Medication-Adherence-Remains-Challenging-for-Heart-Patients

Strategy

Strategy 1: Implement medication adherence tool utilizing the "Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, and provide materials in plain language.

Strategy 2: Expand partnerships to include Arkansas Pharmacy Association and UAMS College of Pharmacy to assist in improving medications adherence among our patients. 

 

Additional Resources

Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.

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