CHAMP is launching “Helping Patients Adhere“, a terrific new course. This 1-unit course explains key reasons for non-adherence behavior and teaches evidence-based strategies that you can apply to help your patients optimize treatment.

The course is composed of 2 sections. The first looks at issues of adherence and an evidence-based “stages of change” model.  The second section addresses the importance of health literacy to adherence, and illustrates teach-back and its importance to effective adherence.

If you’ve been frustrated about some of your patients’ lack of adherence to treatment or medications, the stage of change model is  really useful. Instead of asking why don’t patients change, it’s so much more useful to know how DO patients change. The course clearly presents the stages of change and specific interventions for you to consider. There also are assignments that will help you incorporate the techniques presented into your clinical practice.

As you might know, I sometimes use my soon to be 85 year-old mother Joan as an example.  Some decisions she’s had to make regarding treatment decisions really fit into this model, and I thought about her as I read about the stages of change.

Precontemplation is the first stage. Often this stage represents a lack of knowledge. The patient does not feel a need to change based on what he/she knows. My mother’s cardiologist wanted her to start warfarin therapy for atrial fibrillation. However, she had a negative perception of warfarin, based on an unfortunate experience my father had with the medication. She stayed in this stage until she was hospitalized with a TIA and suffered adverse consequences.  She then had to contemplate the risk benefit of anticoagulation therapy, and eventually took action to go on warfarin. Lo and behold, she’s become a very adherent patient, and now is maintained on a stable dose of  warfarin.

Since I’ve read the course I’ve applied some of the intervention strategies as my mother contemplates and prepares for a serious surgery for an aortic aneurysm. This course is a great value, and I’d love to hear how it’s changed your practice.

Dennee Frey, CHAMP Pharmacy Expert