Tele-Pharmacy Intervention to Improve Treatment Adherence
Condition: Hyperlipidemia; Diabetes; Hypertension
MeSH terms: Hypertension; Hyperlipidemias; Hyperlipoproteinemias
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this cluster randomized controlled trial is to evaluate whether a novel
      tele-pharmacist-based intervention for patients with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and
      diabetes improves medication adherence, disease control, and patients' understanding of their
      treatment.
    

Detailed description: 
      Long-term adherence to evidence-based medications remains exceptionally poor. Half of all
      patients become non-adherent within a year of treatment initiation. Interventions that
      improve medication adherence may have important clinical benefits across large populations,
      and may even be cost-saving by reducing rates of costly and morbid clinical outcomes such as
      myocardial infarction and stroke.

      The Study of a Tele-pharmacy Intervention for Chronic diseases to Improve Treatment adherence
      (STIC 2 IT) is a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating whether a novel
      tele-pharmacist-based intervention improves medication adherence and disease control among
      individuals with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes who are nonadherent to their
      medications and who have poor or worsening disease control. The intervention consists of a
      brief telephonic consultation with a clinical pharmacist using behavioral interviewing
      techniques tailored to patient's level of health activation and progress reports of
      medication-taking and disease control. Based on the barriers identified during the
      consultation, patients will be offered more intensive support including reminder and
      motivational text-messages, video visits and pillboxes. Potentially eligible patients will be
      identified using data from paid-prescription claims data and the electronic health record.
      The study is being conducted at 14 practice sites in a large multi-specialty group practice
      with approximately 250 primary care physicians. Practice sites will be randomized to
      intervention or control. In intervention sites, the primary care physicians of potentially
      eligible patients will be asked whether they would like patients to be enrolled in the
      intervention.
    

Intervention name(s): Telepharmacist intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The intervention consists of a brief telephonic consultation with a clinical pharmacist using behavioral interviewing techniques tailored to patient's level of health activation and progress reports of medication-taking and disease control. Based on the barriers identified during the initial telephone consultation, patients will be offered more intensive support including reminder and motivational text-messages, video visits and pillboxes.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Health Services Research
Keywords: Medication Non-adherence; Hyperlipidemia; Diabetes; Hypertension