Measuring the effects of medication adherence for the Medicare population

7 Chapter summary Medication adherence is viewed as an important component in the treatment of many medical conditions. Adherence to appropriate medication therapy can improve health outcomes and has the potential to reduce the use of other health care services. At the same time, improved adherence increases spending on medications. This issue has led to a proliferation of research on policies that encourage better adherence to medication therapy (e.g., reduced patient cost sharing) and the impact of improved medication adherence on health outcomes, typically measured by the use of other health care services. Literature on medication adherence has found numerous policy interventions that can improve medication adherence. However, only a subset of these interventions relates better adherence to better health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and health care use and costs. Further, the long-term consequences are still uncertain (Goldman et al. 2007, Viswanathan et al. 2012). This study builds on the analysis we conducted last year examining the relationship between adherence to medications and the use of medical services by Medicare beneficiaries with selected conditions. Our preliminary findings showed that the effects on Medicare spending of better adherence to medication therapies likely vary across medical conditions, medication regimens, and low-income subsidy (LIS) status. This variability suggests that