A Retrospective Study on Outpatient Pharmacist Intervention to Enhance Statin Adherence in Patients at High Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

In real-world practice, medication non-adherence is a common problem which has led to poor clinical outcomes, increased hospital admissions and unnecessary healthcare costs. In 2011, Kaiser Permanente Napa Solano outpatient pharmacy implemented a new pilot program to improve adherence to statin therapy in patients at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Interventions included telephone reminders and personalized consultations targeting patient specific barriers. The objective of this retrospective analysis is to evaluate the impact of outpatient pharmacist interventions in addressing early non-persistence, which is defined as failure to pick up the first refill on time. The information collected included quantitative data for descriptive analysis, with the primary outcome measuring prescription pick up rate in contacted patients. Secondary outcomes included baseline characteristics, time to refill pick up after the contact and specific interventions made by pharmacists. 75 patients were identified in a six month period and 38 patients received phone consultations. The obtained results showed that 39.5% of the patients picked up the first refill within 20 days after the phone consultation, which was significantly higher compared to the baseline pickup rate of 5.4%. In regards to the secondary endpoint, patients taking no more than five medications were associated with lower response rate (P =﹣0.02).