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AcariaHealth Announces Successful Results of Cystic Fibrosis Adherence Program

Date: 04/20/2022

As with many chronic diseases, cystic fibrosis (CF) often calls for complex, labor-intensive therapies that require an extraordinary commitment of time, energy, and money from patients. Because of these potential barriers, many patients with CF struggle to adhere to their prescribed therapies.

As part of our commitment to providing the highest level of care and service, AcariaHealth devotes significant resources to conducting research that helps us improve outcomes for our patients. In an effort to assist our patients with adherence to their CF therapies, AcariaHealth conducted an in-depth study in 2020 and 2021 to see if adherence among patients receiving cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulator (CFTRm) therapy could be improved.

The adherence program focused on patients receiving CFTRm therapy who were seven days overdue for a refill based on their anticipated refill date. These patients received a pharmacist-led clinical chart assessment, followed by a call to the physician, the patient, or both. Data on this initiative was collected between April 10, 2020 and March 19, 2021.  

The results showed that 40.6% of the CFTRm refills scheduled during the study period were scheduled only after the pharmacist-led outreach to the patient’s prescriber. Nearly half of the patients receiving CFTRm therapy were not scheduling their refills after standard refill outreach, and only continued their therapy after this study’s additional outreach.

This kind of intervention clearly makes a difference. We can’t underestimate the impact that a chronic disease has on our patients’ ability to adhere to their prescribed therapy. Patients and their families who are struggling to manage CF symptoms may suffer from adherence challenges regarding time, travel, finances, transitioning from previous therapies, and other logistics. This study’s targeted interventions from our pharmacists assisted a significant number of patients in adhering to their therapy. In the words of Rachel Wiechert, Director of Pharmacy and one of the study’s organizers, “The study demonstrates the value of collaboration among the multidisciplinary team to improve patient adherence and optimize therapy benefits for our patients.”

As an industry leader, AcariaHealth goes beyond simply dispensing prescribed therapies. We commit our staff, our time, and our resources to conducting continuous research to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to remove barriers to quality care.

This research was presented at the American Pharmacist Association’s 2022 Annual Meeting.

Learn more about the methods used and the results in the full abstract PDF (link).

 

 

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