Introduction:

the high prevalence of chronic diseases in older ages frequently leads to the simultaneous intake of five or more drugs, a condition known as polymedication. This results in a higher risk of drug-related problems, which can cause negative outcomes associated with medication and a decrease in therapeutic adherence. This fact is noteworthy in rural areas where the population is particularly aged. Compliance aids system, elaborated according to specific working protocols and standards, can be a suitable tool to address this issue.

Method:

we have adapted our regional working protocol by focusing on the analysis of the pharmacotherapy, pharmaceutical dosage form splitting and stability, including and initial medication review and assessment of the patient. Medication and drug-related problems were also assessed according to this procedure.

Results:

most of the ascribed patients were polymedicated women over 75 years of age. Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes were found to be the most prevalent pathologies, while 80% of the patients were taking, at least, one drug at irregular dosing intervals. Less than 5% of the prescribed dosage forms were not suitable for reconditioning in compliance aids systems. We detected 77 drug-related problems, adverse drug reactions being the most frequently recorded. Therapeutic adherence increased from 28.2% to 79.5% after six months.

Conclusions:

compliance aids system elaboration is a complex process, which should be individualized for each patient. These devices may be useful to improve therapeutic adherence in polymedicated aged patients.

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