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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Drugs Outcomes Research and Policies
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1444012
This article is part of the Research Topic The Continuing Challenge of Medication Adherence View all 3 articles

Medication Non-Adherence: Reflecting on Two Decades Since WHO Adherence Report and Setting Goals for the Next Twenty Years

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Medication Adherence Research Centre, Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland, Lodz, Poland
  • 2 Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
  • 3 Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States
  • 4 University of Music Lausanne, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
  • 5 University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States
  • 6 Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
  • 7 University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy
  • 8 Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 9 University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  • 10 Health Bridge Alliance Against Breast Cancer, Budapest, Hungary
  • 11 Syreon Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary
  • 12 Touro University, New York City, New York, United States
  • 13 University of Pécs, Pécs, Baranya, Hungary

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Non-adherence to medication remains a persistent and significant challenge, with profound implications for patient outcomes and the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems. Two decades ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) dedicated its seminal report to adherence to long-term therapies, catalysing notable changes that advanced both research and practice in medication adherence. The aim of this paper was to identify the most important progress made over the last two decades in medication adherence management and to initiate a discussion on future objectives, suggesting priority targets for the next 20 years.This research used the WHO adherence model as a theoretical framework, categorizing adherence factors into five dimensions: health system, therapy, condition, patient-related, and socioeconomic. Ten international experts, five from Europe and five from the United States, were assigned to these dimensions and participated in structured online discussions.Initially, based on their desk reviews, experts identified significant achievements and future targets. They then ranked these items and provided feedback through several rounds, ensuring anonymity to minimize bias, ultimately reaching a consensus. This iterative process allowed for the creation of top-ten lists of past achievements and future targets for medication adherence management over the next 20 years.Analysis of the top-ranked achievements affirms that notable progress has been made in medication adherence research and practice over the past 20 years, with increased awareness and a surge in dedicated scientific publications. Despite these advancements, non-adherence remains a prevalent issue, underscoring the need for the ongoing implementation of innovative solutions identified in this work, such as novel digital health solutions. Interdisciplinary collaboration and a holistic understanding of patient behaviours and socio-economic factors are crucial.While refraining from imposing a rigid 'adherence Decalogue,' we are confident that this overview of recent achievements and the curated selection of future targets may provide a useful foundation for further discussions aimed at advancing medication adherence management. Our results call for a paradigm shift, advocating the repositioning of medication adherence on national agendas and underscoring the necessity for an adherence-supportive ecosystem that extends beyond mere patient support.

    Keywords: Medication Adherence, Drug Therapy, innovation, Digital health technologies, Healthcare costs, Patient Education, Patient outcomes, Polypharmacy

    Received: 04 Jun 2024; Accepted: 05 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kardas, Bennet, Borah, Burnier, Daly, Hiligsmann, Menditto, Peterson, Slejko, Toth, Unni and Agh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Przemyslaw Kardas, Medication Adherence Research Centre, Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland, Lodz, Poland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.