Refilling our prescriptions and taking our medications properly can be a challenge at the best of times. We all need a reminder now and then to follow what the doctor ordered.

That “reminder” can come in the form of a drug adherence program. Rx Canada, a pharmacy-sponsored organization that devises such programs, highlighted its Health Inform program at the Rx Connect Symposium today in Toronto. Health Inform is a health information program that is personalized for patients who are taking medications for long-term health conditions(for example, osteoporosis, cholesterol and asthma). It’s offered by pharmacies to help patients understand and manage their medications, as well as reinforce the proper use of medications. Patients participating in Health Inform receive materials about their particular ailment via regular mail or email.

To date, Health Inform has produced results. According to Rx Canada, on average, patients using Health Inform have shown a 15% increase in the length of time they adhere to their medications. However, even in a successful program, there is always room for improvement.

After reviewing Health Inform patient materials, Grant Corbett, principal with Behavior Change Solutions, presented five recommendations for improving the program.

• Target the first-month adherence for improved length of therapy. Looking at an average of clinical trials on adherence, Corbett indicated that within the first month of adherence programs, adherence drops from 100% to 65%. “The earlier you intervene,” he said, “the more likely you’ll get continued persistence over time.”

• Target the “intentional non-adherents,” those patients with “intentional reasons”(such as cost concerns and worries about side effects)for not filling their prescriptions. Corbett said the focus for these non-adherents is a change in patient behaviour.

• Make motivation the focus for Health Inform, not knowledge.

• Focus on the patients, not the healthcare professionals.

• Make research the driver for the program, not education or concepts.

Implementing these recommendations into the Health Inform program could only enhance an already successful program, Corbett said. An enhanced program, of course, could result in a higher percentage of drug adherence for patients—and fewer sick days that employers have to worry about.

To comment on this story email brooke.smith@rci.rogers.com.