THURSDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- More than 30 percent of women fail to pick up new prescriptions for osteoporosis medications, according to a study published in the April issue of Osteoporosis International.
Kristi Reynolds, Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena, and colleagues identified 8,454 women (aged 55 years and older) enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Southern California who had a new prescription for oral bisphosphonates from Dec. 1, 2009, to March 31, 2011. Failure to pick up the new prescription within 60 days of the order date was the definition for primary non-adherence.
The researchers found that 2,497 women (29.5 percent) did not pick up their bisphosphonate prescription within 60 days of the order date. Older age and emergency department utilization were associated with increased odds of primary non-adherence. Lower odds of primary non-adherence were tied to prescription medication use and hospitalizations. There were lower odds of primary non-adherent patients with prescribing providers who had been practicing 10 or more years. There were also lower odds of primary non-adherent patients among internal medicine and rheumatology providers than among primary care providers.
"Identifying barriers and developing interventions aimed at reducing the number of primary non-adherent patients to bisphosphonate prescriptions are warranted," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
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