23 Feb Mail Order Pharmacies Linked To Better Compliance With Stroke Medications
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
William P. Neil, MD
Vascular Neurologist
SCPMG Regional Stroke Champion
Neurology
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Neil: Stroke survivors are less likely to have a recurrent stroke, or other complications if they take their medications as prescribed by their doctor. Mail order pharmacies are increasingly being used to deliver medications for a variety of diseases, and their use is associated with better medication adherence. We wanted to see whether stroke patients who use mail-order pharmacies were more likely to have good medication adherence than those who used local pharmacies.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Neil: We looked through a large electronic medical database in California, and found a total of 48,746 people discharged from the hospital with a stroke, and who also filled either a cholesterol medication or an anticoagulant (blood thinner). Of these, 136,722 refills were from a local pharmacy and 68,363 were by mail. Overall, patients were adherent to the medications 46.5% of the time if they picked up the medication from the pharmacy and 74% of the time if they had prescriptions mailed to them.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Neil: Stroke survivors who obtain medication by mail are more likely to have good medication adherence than those who obtain them from local pharmacies.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Neil: Future studies should examine the impact of mail-order pharmacy use on vascular risk marker control and further events such as recurrent hospitalization, or death after stroke.
Citation:
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William P. Neil, MD (2016). Mail Order Pharmacies Linked To Better Compliance With Stroke Medications
Last Updated on February 23, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD