When the Bottle Lies: Advances in Detecting Medication Adherence in Hypertension

Abstract

Medication nonadherence is common among patients with chronic conditions including hypertension, contributing to increased cardiovascular risk and health care costs. Although indirect methods of assessing adherence are simple and inexpensive, they lack the accuracy of direct methods like direct observed therapy or chemical assays, which are more precise but less feasible, resource-intensive and costly for routine use. Identifying nonadherence is only the first step, effectively addressing it remains a significant challenge. This review explores current methods for detecting adherence in hypertension and outlines strategies to approach both intentional and unintentional nonadherence.

Medication nonadherence is common among patients with chronic conditions including hypertension, contributing to increased cardiovascular risk and health care costs. Although indirect methods of assessing adherence are simple and inexpensive, they lack the accuracy of direct methods like direct observed therapy or chemical assays, which are more precise but less feasible, resource-intensive and costly for routine use. Identifying nonadherence is only the first step, effectively addressing it remains a significant challenge. This review explores current methods for detecting adherence in hypertension and outlines strategies to approach both intentional and unintentional nonadherence.