DEMOGRAPHICAL FACTORS AFFECTING PATIENT COMPLIANCE (ADHERENCE) TO MEDICATIONS IN AN OUTPATIENT PSYCIATRIC CLINIC: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Selen Yeğenoğlu* , Albert L.Wertheimer**,William R.Dubin***

*Hacettepe University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Departemant of Pharmacy Management, 06100 Sıhhiye, Ankara, TURKEY.
**Temple University, School of Pharmacy, Center for Pharmaceutial Health Services Research 3307 North Broad Street Philadelphia PA 19140 USA
***Temple University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Outpatient Clinic 9th Floor-West Rock Pavilion 3401 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140 USA
? Corresponding author e-mail: selen@hacettepeedu.tr

Summary:
This paper focuses on considering pharmacists to evalute medication compliance(adherence) in patients. The objective of this prelimary study was to assess medication compliance in patients as reported to a pharmacist (also a post- doctoral student), rather then to a professional caregiver. Though there have been various studies conducted in this area based on patients’ reports; they have always had the potantial for bias based on the extent of the patients’ honesty. Ratios of compliance rate were surveyed in various pharmacotherapy categories such as antibiotics, antiasthmatics, antihypertensives, and psychiatrics, showing that the ratios differed in each category. The paper leads into studying possible various demographical factors affecting the compliance and the reasons for non-compliance.
According to this study, it did not appear that patients were anymore candid with the pharmacists versus their physician. İn this study medication compliance rate was found as 30%. From this interviews, it is clear that there are no large differences in terms of compliance by gender, age and education level. Also, the pharmacists’ being in the same environment with the treathing physician might have effected patient’s honesty. However the reported reasons for non-compliance should be explored in detail in a larger patient group.

Keywords:
Patients compliance, Medication compliance, Honesty, Psychriatric medicines.