Does the use of an electronic reminder device with or without counseling improve adherence to lipid-lowering treatment? The results of a randomized controlled trial

Background: Lipid-lowering treatment with statins has proven to be effective in reducing cardiovascular events and mortality. In daily practice, however, adherence to medication is often low and this compromises the therapeutic effect. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an electronic reminder device (ERD) with or without counseling to improve refill adherence and persistence for statin treatment in non-adherent patients. Methods: A multicenter, community pharmacy-based, randomized controlled trial was conducted in 24 pharmacies in the Netherlands among patients with pre-baseline refill adherence rates between 50 and 80%. Eligible patients aged 65 years or older were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) counseling with an ERD (n = 134), (2) ERD with a written instruction (n = 131), and a (3) control group that received the usual treatment (n = 134). Main outcome measure: refill adherence to statin treatment for a 360-day period after inclusion (PDC360). Patients with a refill rate ≥80% were considered adherent. The effect among subgroups was also assessed. Results: There were no relevant differences at baseline. In the counseling with ERD group 54 of 130 eligible patients received the counseling with ERD. In the ERD group, 117 of 123 eligible patients received the ERD. The proportions of adherent patients in the counseling with ERD-group (69.2%) and in the ERD group (72.4%) were not higher than in the control group (64.8%). Among women using statins for secondary prevention, more patients were adherent in the ERD group (86.1%) than in the control group (52.6%) (p < 0.005). In men using statins for secondary prevention the ERD was found to have no effect. Conclusion: In this randomized controlled trial, no statistically significant improvement of refill adherence was found if an ERD was used with or without counseling. However, in a subgroup of women using statins for secondary prevention the ERD did improve adherence significantly.