For many seniors with a chronic illness, doctors often prescribe long-term medication. But some patients refuse to take their drugs, while others stop because of side effects. In England, researchers conducted a poll to find whether people really took their meds.

What the researchers wanted to know: Do patients stick with new medications for chronic conditions?

What they did: Pharmacists in 23 community pharmacies in southeast England recruited patients picking up a new medication for a chronic condition. The patients also had to either be at least 75 years old or have coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis. Then the researchers carried out telephone interviews after 10 days and four weeks, and sent out a paper questionnaire after 10 days. The patients were asked when they had last missed a dose of their medicine. They were counted as "nonadherent" if they'd missed a dose in the previous seven days. Researchers also asked them more generally about any problems and issues with their medication.

What they found: One quarter of patients were not taking their new medication as prescribed four weeks after starting the medication. (The results don't count people whose doctor had told them to stop the medication.) Half of the nonadherents were doing so intentionally. Patients were more likely to be nonadherent with newly prescribed medications than with medications they were already taking. Many patients reported problems with side effects or concerns about the medication—such as not liking pills or being worried about allergies or interactions with other drugs. Also, most patients still taking their medications said they needed more information, either on the drug or on their condition.

What this study means to you: For doctors who prescribe medications to be taken over a long time, like those for chronic conditions—this is more information about the trouble people have with sticking to their meds.

Caveats: The study didn't go out to find a random sample but just picked people coming to pharmacies, so it's hard to apply it to the population as a whole. Also, it counts on patients remembering when they last missed a dose of their medication.

Find out more: For tips on medication compliance from the American Heart Association, go to http://www.americanheart.org/.

Read the abstract free online at http://qhc.bmjjournals.com/.

Read the article: Barber, N. et al. "Patients' Problems With New Medication for Chronic Conditions. Quality and Safety in Health Care." June 2004, Vol. 13, pp. 172–175.