The association of consumer expectations, experiences and satisfaction with newly prescribed medications.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between medication expectations and subsequent experience on treatment satisfaction and intention to continue using the medication.


METHODS
A longitudinal study with two surveys administered to each patient. Patients prescribed a new medication were recruited in pharmacies within Michigan. Medication-related expectations were evaluated at baseline. Experiences, satisfaction and intent to continue were evaluated a month later. Analyses used included factorial ANOVA models, multiple linear regressions and structural equation modeling (SEM). Impact of satisfaction on intention to continue was evaluated using correlation analysis and SEM.


RESULTS
A total of 344 usable responses were obtained. SEM showed that expectation scores were not associated with both experience (path coefficient = 0.10) and satisfaction (path coefficient = 0.02, NS). On the other hand, experience was strongly associated with satisfaction (path coefficient = 0.89) and satisfaction was strongly associated with intent to continue using the new medication (path coefficient = 0.81).


CONCLUSIONS
This study empirically supports the value of the patient's experience and its contribution to satisfaction, which in turn is associated with intended continued use mainly due to greater effectiveness of the newly prescribed medication. Satisfied consumers should be more adherent, thus enhancing the probability of positive therapeutic outcomes.
Kumar
Ritesh N
RN
Outcomes Research, Merck and Co., Inc., One Merck Drive - WS2E-65, Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889, USA. ritesh_kumar@merck.com
Kirking
Duane M
DM
Hass
Steven L
SL
Vinokur
Amiram D
AD
Taylor
Stephanie D
SD
Atkinson
Mark J
MJ
McKercher
Patrick L
PL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001290:Attitude; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010465:Perception; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome