title: Physicians' perspectives on the treatment of osteoporosis patients with bisphosphonates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Noncompliance with bisphosphonate therapy among osteoporosis patients attenuates the reduction of fracture risk. The objective of this study was to assess physicians' prescribing considerations, preferences for osteoporosis treatments, and perceptions of patients' compliance with oral bisphosphonates.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an online survey of US physicians identified in the HealthCore Integrated Research Database (HIRD(SM)) as prescribing oral bisphosphonates to women aged ≥55 years. The survey gauged physicians' prescribing considerations and preferences for various types of osteoporosis medications. The physicians were asked to predict patient persistence and compliance, and rate various reasons for noncompliance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bone mineral density, long-term medication use (eg, corticosteroids), and a history of fracture were ranked as major considerations by 94.9%, 88.6%, and 86.7% of participating physicians (N=158), respectively, when deciding whether to treat an osteoporosis patient. Most physicians expressed a preference for prescribing weekly or monthly oral bisphosphonates, for both newly diagnosed patients (54.4% and 34.2%, respectively) and long-term users of oral bisphosphonates (40.5% and 36.1%, respectively). Most physicians (23.4% always, 58.9% sometimes) incorporated a drug holiday into their prescribing patterns. Although most physicians predicted that more than half of the patients would comply with the prescribed medication for at least a year, 17.7% predicted that less than half of the patients would be compliant in the 1st year, and 29.7% predicted the same result for compliance beyond 1 year. In the opinion of the majority of physicians, the major reasons for noncompliance with oral bisphosphonates were intolerance of a medication due to a gastrointestinal condition (71.5%) and medication side effects (69.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  US physicians consider several relevant risk factors when deciding whether to prescribe pharmacotherapy and exhibit a preference for weekly or monthly regimens. The physicians estimated a substantial minority of the patients to be noncompliant with oral bisphosphonates, for reasons including primarily gastrointestinal intolerance and medication-related side effects.
authors.affiliation: HealthCore, Wilmington, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: HealthCore, Wilmington, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Debra F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Eisenberg Lawrence
authors.affiliation: HealthCore, Wilmington, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Judith J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Stephenson
authors.affiliation: Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Jingbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D004164:Diphosphonates
keywords: bisphosphonates; cross-sectional studies; osteoporosis; patient compliance; physician’s practice patterns