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Adherence to glaucoma treatment difficult to measure, improve
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 Mark B. Sherwood |
PARIS — Patient adherence to glaucoma medical therapy is a well-known problem, and currently there are no reliable ways of assessing and improving adherence, according to one speaker here.
“Adherence means using the correct number of drops in the correct eye at the correct time of day. It involves acceptance of the disease, compliance with the treatment, persistence in continuing the treatment over time and the ability to deliver the medications correctly. Each of these parameters, in turn, depends on many factors, medication-related, patient-related or situation-related. Adherence is indeed a very complex issue,” Mark B. Sherwood, MD, said at the World Glaucoma Congress.
Measuring adherence is difficult, and studies using electronic dispensers as well as patient questionnaires or verbal declarations have shown a big discrepancy between reality and what patients say or perceive.
“While patients self-report a 95% adherence, objective methods show that only 55% of them take more than 75% of the prescribed dose of medications,” Dr. Sherwood said.
As far as methods to improve adherence are concerned, few studies have attempted to evaluate the efficacy of interventions such as individualized care, education and various forms of reminders, including electronic devices.
“Some of these studies seem to indicate that interventions are effective, especially in the long term,” he said.
- Disclosure: Dr. Sherwood has no relevant financial disclosures.