Summary of Related Literature According to a study done by Carl Asche et al; that the majority of studies done on glycemic

control reported that improved adherence was associated with better medication adherence 1g. Also according to the study, medication adherence and glycemic control studies are commonly done in terms of prescription refills compared to others 1g. The study was done by retrieving their data from multiple published articles from PubMed database. The limitations of this as stated by the author is that their depth of analysis was no sufficient to determine the degree of methologic validity for all of the studies reviewed. Secondly, the study was done with only using a single search engine (PubMed). Thirdly, their searches are not strictly exclusive for researches that utilizes only objective pharmacy refill data (59% of the gathered studies). The study suggested to study the relationship over protracted observation periods and researches that incorporate additonal confounders that may mediate the relationship between adeherence and outcomes.

According to a study done on medication adherence for COPD on their last year of life, stated that the patients tend to use respiratory medications sporadically2g. The study also suggests that the patients becomes more compliant with their medications to alleviate their respiratory distress as COPD patients tends to experience more brethlessness at the of life. Also, patients are significantly more comliant with methylaxanthines thant other COPD drug classes. The study states that the possibility that the elderly are having trouble self-administering other COPD drugs since they are inhalers compared to methylaxanthines a pill. The study states that another possible explanation is that methylxanthies was given at a 90-day supplys and inhaled medications were usually dispensed in 30-days supply amounts. The study also suggests that there is a possible confounder on measuring medication adherence. These possible confounders are socioecnomic factors such as income, insurance status, education level, occupation and social status in the community ( or race)2g. This study was done by a restrospective cohort study of patients with COPD in the Veterans affairs. Outpatient and inpatient files of the National Patient Care Database and pharmacy data from Pharmacy Benefit Management.

References

1g. Asche C, LaFleur J, Conner C. A Review of Diabetes Treatment Adherence and the Association with Clinical and Economic Outcomes. Clinical Therapeutic; Volume 33, Number 1, 2011

2g Jung E, Pickard AS, Salmon JW, Bartle B, Lee TA. Medication adherence and persistence in the last year of life in COPD patients. Respiratory Medicine 2009; 103: 523 - 534