title: Effects of Adherence to Statin Therapy on Health Care Outcomes and Utilizations in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Good medication adherence may decrease the probability of worse outcomes and reduce unnecessary medical care costs. This study aims to evaluate medication adherence for people on statin therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  National health insurance databases were analyzed from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2007. Study samples were patients of 45 years and older adults who took statin for the first time during the study period. Medication possession ratio (MPR) was measured until the patients had hospitalization or reached the three-year follow-up period. We identified a good (MPR ≥ 80%) and a poor (MPR < 80%) medication adherence group to conduct statistical analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  40.8% of patients were of good medication adherence and 59.2% were of poor medication adherence. Multivariate logistic regression model indicated that the MPR ≥ 80% group had significantly less probability of hospitalization (P < 0.001). Being men, increasing age, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) scores, seeking care mostly in the medical center or teaching hospitals, and living in the suburban or rural areas had higher probability of hospitalization (P < 0.05 or P < 0.001). The MPR ≥ 80% group spent less hospitalization expenditures (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effective interventions may be applied to the poor medication adherence group in order to improve their health care outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Care Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, 70 Lien-Hai Road, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ying-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Care Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, 70 Lien-Hai Road, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D013624:Taiwan; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors