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Quality Insights - Practice Transformation  
Improving Hypertension and Diabetes Care & Prevention   
Effective Communication Skills Can Improve Medication Adherence

As a health care professional, you can empower patients to take their medications as prescribed. Effective two-way communication is critical; in fact, it doubles the odds of your patients taking their medications properly.  

Download  the Million HeartsĀ® Improving Medication Adherence Among Patients with Hypertension Tip Sheet which lists several predictors to help you identify patients who may struggle with adherence to patients with doc medication. This tip sheet also explains the SIMPLE method to help improve medication adherence among your patients, which is made up of the following:
  • Simplify the regimen
  • Impart knowledge
  • Modify patients' beliefs and behavior
  • P rovide communication and trust
  • Leave the bias
  • Evaluate adherence
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cell phone Hypertension (HTN) is a major public health concern in the United States, with almost 78 million Americans age 20 years and over suffering from the condition.  Medication adherence for the treatment of HTN is poor. It is estimated that only about half of hypertensive patients are adherent to prescribed medication regimens. 

Although no single intervention for improving medication adherence has emerged as superior to others, text message medication reminders have the potential to help improve medication adherence, especially in African Americans with uncontrolled HTN as mobile phone adoption is very high in this population.  

BPMED is a text message system used to improve the quality of medication management through increasing medication adherence in African Americans with uncontrolled HTN. Learn more.
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Check Out the New Medication Adherence Practice e-Toolkit from Quality Insights 

Med Adherence e-toolkit Quality Insights released a new Medication Adherence Practice e-Toolkit that is packed with information, resources and best practices that you can use to better help your patients better adhere to their medication regimes.
 
The e-toolkit includes education and resources on the following topics:
  • Medication adherence improvement materials and educational resources
  • How to successfully engage patients to improve medication adherence
  • Team approach to med adherence
  • Costs of non-adherence
  • How pharmacist interventions can improve med adherence
  • Free apps to help your patients better manage their medications
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Your Response is Needed to the Quality Insights Hypertension & Diabetes Assessment

check mark Quality Insights is working with the Delaware Division of Public Health to encourage practices to implement guidelines that will improve the treatment and follow-up care for patients who have either hypertension and/or diabetes.

Click here to access a brief assessment that requests information on protocols or procedures that you are using to treat and follow-up on these chronic diseases.

Please be assured that your practice data will never be shared outside of Quality Insights. Thank you in advance for your prompt response.
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Contacts:
1.877.987.4687, Ext. 137

1.877.987.4687, Ext. 127
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This publication was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number 1U58DP004799-01 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.