Effectiveness of bi-directional patient-provider communication tools aimed at changing patient medication behavior in the outpatient setting: a scoping review.

Abstract

Background: Appropriate medication behavior is important to ensure patients receive optimal health benefits from interacting with their healthcare providers. Communication between patients and providers is essential in ensuring patients take prescribed medication appropriately.

Objective: To investigate the available evidence on the effectiveness of bi-directional communication interventions that focus on both patients and clinicians in outpatient settings aimed at changing how patients take their medications. The desired patient medication behavior changes included initiation, adherence, dose escalation, dose reduction, and discontinuation.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of research studies assessing bi-directional patient-provider communication interventions targeting patient medication behavior change in the outpatient setting. We identified the types of interventions used in each study and the components of successful trials.

Results: We included eight randomized controlled trials and two quasi-experimental trial with a total of 2,911 adult participants. Among the 10 studies, 9 reported statistically significant improvement in the desired direction of medication behavior change in the intervention group compared to control group.

Conclusion: This scoping review shows the promise of bi-directional patient-provider communication tools in impacting behavior related to how patients take their prescribed medications. More randomized controlled trials with standardized outcomes are needed to better assess the utility of patient-provider communication tools.

Practice implications: Including both patient and provider in an effort to improve desired patient medication behavior change should be considered when educational interventions are designed.