Report: Pharmacists could help encourage drug adherence, including selecting the right packaging, adds group

Daphne Allen

December 12, 2015

2 Min Read
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In a national telephone survey produced for the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), researchers found that a number of American patients aged 40 and older are struggling with medication adherence. 

In "Medication Adherence in America: A National Report Card," researchers reported that "Americans earn only a C+ grade on average in terms of taking their medication properly," NCPA shared in a statement. In addition, "One in seven adults with chronic conditions – the equivalent of more than 10 million adults - received an F grade."

NCPA claims that the "biggest predictor of medication adherence was patients’ personal connection (or lack thereof) with a pharmacist or pharmacy staff." Other predictors include medication affordability, healthcare continuity, patient understanding about their health, and others. 

The report states that "these predictors, as well as other results of this survey, indicate a variety of avenues by which health care providers and pharmacists alike can address non-adherence—among them, better informing patients of the importance of adherence, strengthening a sense of personal connection and communication between patients/caregivers and their health care and pharmacy providers and encouraging patients to discuss side effects with those providers."

PMP News asked NCPA whether it believes packaging can help promote adherence. NCPA told us:

"Research has shown that the causes of non-adherence are multi-faceted. Because of their accessibility and frequent interaction with patients, pharmacists are in an ideal position to help identify a patient's individual barriers to adherence and work with them to find solutions that address their needs and work for their lifestyle. Forgetfulness and regimen complexity are two common adherence barriers that can be addressed with packaging and labeling solutions, and community pharmacists can work with their patients to identify the packaging solution that works best for them."

The survey was produced and analyzed and this report written by Langer Research Associates. The report is available for download at www.ncpanet.org/reportcard.

About the Author

Daphne Allen

Design News

Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of Design News. She previously served as editor-in-chief of MD+DI and of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and also served as an editor for Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered design, manufacturing, materials, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues for more than 20 years. She has also presented on these topics in several webinars and conferences, most recently discussing design and engineering trends at MD&M West 2024 and leading an Industry ShopTalk discussion during the show on artificial intelligence. She will be moderating the upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Medical Device Engineering and will be leading an Automation Tour at Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. She will also be attending DesignCon and MD&M West 2025.

Daphne has previously participated in meetings of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and served as a judge in awards programs held by The Tube Council and the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council. She also received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award in the AIM Awards in 2012.

Follow Daphne on X at @daphneallen and reach her at [email protected].

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