Best of 2018: Patients May Not Fill Your Prescription Save

A new study linking administrative claims and electronic health records (EHRs) shows that nearly 40% of patients fill and take newly prescribed methotrexate (MTX), tofacitinib or biologics. 

Kan et al set out to estimate the extent and predictors of primary nonadherence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who received new prescriptions for methotrexate, biologics or tofacitinib. They found:

• 36.8% of patients prescribed methotrexate failed to initiate methotrexate within 2 months;
• 40.6% of patients newly prescribed biologics/tofacitinib failed to initiate within 3 months.

Predictors for methotrexate primary nonadherence included age, race, region, body mass index, number of active drugs and chronic cormbidities.

Factors associated with biologics/tofacitinib primary nonadherence included age, insurance, and certain comorbidities at baseline. 

Primary nonadherence to methotrexate and biologics/tofacitinib was common in RA patients. It may be possible to predict patients at high risk of primary nonadherence and intervene with measures to promote adherence.