Medication non-compliance is not only dangerous for patients — it's the fourth leading cause of death in the United States — but costs the healthcare industry upwards of $150 billion annually. The World Health Organization estimates that only 50 percent of patients typically follow doctors' orders when taking prescription drugs, and other studies show that non-compliance is driving 10 to 25 percent of hospital and nursing home admissions.

In Patient-Centered Models in Medication Adherence: Reducing Costs and Non-Compliance through Health Behavior Change, Connie Commander, immediate past president of the Case Management Society of America and president, Commander’s Premier Consulting Corporation, and Thom Stambaugh, chief pharmacy officer and vice president of clinical programs and specialty pharmacy, CIGNA Pharmacy Management, examine common barriers to medication adherence and present the initiatives that have increased patient compliance with medication regimes for their organizations.

Throughout this 35-page report, Commander and Stambaugh describe the collaborative efforts of case managers, disease managers and health coaches to identify individuals with medication adherence issues and reduce the negative medical and financial consequences of medication non-compliance, including its link to 20 percent of preventable adverse drug events. They provide details on:

• The negative outcomes of non-adherence;
• Tools and techniques for assessing patient and member needs and custom-fitting a behavior change model;
• The missing link in a biomedical approach to medication adherence, versus the value of a behavior modification model;
• Validated tools to assess medication adherence, health literacy and patient motivation;
• The role of family and social support;
• Seven barriers to medication adherence;
• A health advocacy team approach to reducing adherence gaps;
• Case studies in medication adherence for patients with depression, asthma, diabetes and more;
• Services and solutions to reduce medical and behavioral healthcare costs;

Table of Contents

• Case Management Approach to Increased Patient Compliance
  • Barriers to Improving Adherence
  • Biomedical Model vs. Behavior Modification
  • Case Management Adherence Guidelines
  • Health Literacy Assessment Tools
• Return to Health: Overcoming Barriers to Medication Adherence
  • The Impact of Non-Adherence
  • Seven Adherence Barriers
  • Identifying Medication Adherence Gaps
  • Resolving Adherence Gaps
  • Cost-Saving Strategies
  • Big Results for Depression, Asthma, Cholesterol & Diabetes
• Q&A: Ask the Experts
  • Systems Changes to Support Medication Adherence
  • Best Bets for Medication Compliance Initiatives
  • Measuring Medication Adherence in Diabetics
  • PCPs and Medication Adherence
  • Do Demographics Drive the Adherence?
  • Logic for Defining Non-adherence
  • Intervention Analysis
  • Impact of Packaging on Adherence
  • Diagnosing ER Savings
  • MDs and Medication Adherence
  • Pharmacists’ Role on Health Advocacy Team
  • Evaluating the Readiness Ruler
  • Best Patient Communication Channels
  • Medication Adherence & Pain Management
  • Best Tactics for Medication Compliance
  • Alternative Support Tools
  • Effect of CMAGs on Compliance
  • Challenges of the Behavioral Health Patient
  • Trials on the Horizon
  • Teachable Moments in the ER
  • Impact of Medical Homes
• Glossary
• For More Information
• About the Presenters