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Consider combination drugs when compliance is a factor
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LAS VEGAS — If a multiple drug regimen is creating a compliance problem in patients, consider combination drugs, one physician says.
“A major rationale for considering combination drugs is compliance,” according to Eve J. Higginbotham, MD, who spoke at the First Annual Ocular Surgery News Symposium — Glaucoma: Improving Your Odds. Other benefits of combination therapy include convenience, efficacy and cost.
Dr. Higginbotham described a small study that examined the efficacy of combination drugs. Findings from that study indicated combination therapy results in higher levels of the drug in the aqueous humor.
Additionally, Dr. Higginbotham said that if a patient uses a combination drug, as opposed to two or more separate drugs, the number of health insurance co-payments a patient must make are reduced as well.
A disadvantage to using combination therapies for the patient include the possible adverse reactions a patient may have to a particular combination. When that happens, the entire bottle of medication is wasted, Dr. Higginbotham said.