geoffrey modest medical blogs

A national survey found that one in eight patients with atherosclerotic cardiovasc disease (ASCVD) reported nonadherence to medications because of cost (see  medication nonadherence from cost circ2019  in dropbox, or DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.041974)   Details: -- 14,279 US adults with ASCVD were surveyed in the National Health Interview Survey, a nationwide survey of non-institutionalized individuals compiled annually by the CDC, assessing the trend from 2013 to 2017     -- the responses to the survey were self-reported, with ASCVD being defined as being told by a healthcare professional that the individual had any of the full following: coronary heart disease, angina or angina pectoris, heart attack or myocardial infarction, or stroke -- cost related-nonadherence (CRN) in the prior 12 months was determined when  patients reporte d skipping med doses to save money, taking less medication to save money, or delaying filling prescription to save mo...

MMWR just reported on the  anti-hypertensive  medication adherence rate in those on Medicare (see  https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6536e1.htm?s_cid=mm6536e1_e  ) . Background: --70% of US adults >65yo have hypertension, only 50% of them controlled (BP <140/90 mmHg) --uncontrolled BP is the main risk factor for heart disease and stroke (1 st  and 3 rd  leading causes of death) in those >65yo Details of study: --analysis was limited to Medicare D beneficiaries with 2 or more antihypertensive med scripts filled on different service dates within a measurement period of >90 days --medication nonadherence was defined as the % of days the patient should have had access to the medications based on how often they refilled the medications, with <80% suggesting nonadherence [this is a bit more complex now that pharmacies are simply calling patients in to refill meds when their prescriptions are due to b...