Persistence and adherence to disease modifying drugs among patients with multiple sclerosis
- 13 January 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa Healthcare in Current Medical Research and Opinion
- Vol. 26 (3) , 663-674
- https://doi.org/10.1185/03007990903554257
Abstract
Objective:This retrospective database study aimed to evaluate the adherence of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on immunomodulatory treatments using claims data, and to identify differences between compliance and persistency measurements in the context of this disease.Methods:Continuously enrolled MS patients treated with subcutaneous IFNβ-1b (Betaseron), subcutaneous IFNβ-1a (Rebif), intramuscular IFNβ-1a (Avonex), and subcutaneous glatiramer acetate (Copaxone).) were identified from the PharMetrics patient-centric database, and all information related to patient demographics and pharmacy claims for the drugs of interest were extracted.Outcome measures:The main outcomes were treatment switches and discontinuations for patients initiated on the drugs of interest. Various compliance and persistency metrics including the proportion of days covered, treatment prevalence at 6-monthly time points after initiation, and the continuous time on drug were also examined.Results:A total of 6134 MS patients we...Keywords
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