Background: This study aimed to share preliminary descriptive survey results from patients with potential medication adherence issues on how they changed taking or filling medications during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: As part of a larger trial of a clinical decision support intervention, patients identified as potentially nonadherent to medications were contacted by telephone to complete a survey in the weeks after a clinical encounter. The 10-minute survey asked patients about their recent experiences with taking and filling medications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responders received a $10 thank you incentive. Patients surveyed met criteria at a clinical encounter for not being at clinical goal for either glycated hemoglobin or blood pressure or if they were on a statin and had a low adherence score (<80%) to a medication in that domain. The adherence scores were Epic-derived proportion of days covered (PDC) calculations using Surescripts dispense data in the last 6 months, and only scores rated with high data confidence were included.
Results: The survey is currently in the field, with a 50% anticipated response rate after all reach attempts are completed. To date, a total of 123 individuals have completed the survey; 13% of respondents noted that they had changed how they take or fill prescriptions for medicines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these patients, 53% indicated they were taking their medication more regularly than before and 27% indicated they were taking medication less regularly or having difficulty taking their medication as prescribed. None of the individuals reported having trouble refilling their medication, 27% refilled their medicine sooner or more often to make sure they didn’t run out, 27% changed to refill their prescription by mail order, and 20% indicated they were more concerned about the cost of their medications.
Conclusion: Of patients not achieving care goals and identified with potential adherence issues, less than one fifth reported that the COVID-19 pandemic changed how they took or refilled their medication. Of patients who did make changes, more than half reported taking medications more regularly than before. They reported no trouble obtaining refills, but cost was a concern for some.