Promoting Adherence to Improve Effectiveness of Cardiovascular Disease Therapies

"The IVR intervention consisted of automated phone calls designed to educate participants about their medications and to assist them in refilling their prescriptions. The calls fell into two basic types: simple refill reminders and tardy calls for those who were overdue for a refill. Calls occured monthly and were triggered by dispensing information in the electronic medical record (EMR). Call features included the ability to transfer individuals to Kaiser's automated prescription refill service as well as to care managers. Although the calls were triggered by and focused on use of ACE inhibitors, ARBs and statins, they also included reminders to use aspirin, which is known to also be effective for secondary prevention in this patient population."

Participants received bimonthly educational materials by mail. In addition, patients received mailed refill reminder letters and their providers were notified electronically if the patients failed to refill in response to the automated calls. The educational mailings included personalized health information such as the participant's cholesterol and blood pressure readings, as well as tools for improving adherence such as frequently asked questions (FAQs) about their medications, a pocket-sized calendar for tracking refills with pertinent phone numbers and web site information and space for them to write their medical record number and prescription numbers.