The Relationship Between Number of Medicines Prescribed, Free Medicines, and Adherence

Introduction: The number of medicines prescribed to a patient can be an obstacle to medicine adherence. CLEAN Meds randomized clinical trial aimed to determine the provision of essential medicines at no charge. Providing free medicines improved adherence. However, free medicine provision, might have different effects depending on the number of medicines prescribed to a patient.Objective: To determine whether the number of prescribed medicines modifies the beneficial effect of free medicine distribution. Methods: Using binary logistic regression, the analysis determines whether the number of medications modified the intervention of free medicine distribution while correcting for confounders. Results: While providing medicines free of charge improves adherence (P= 0.02), this effect was not modified by the number of medicines prescribed (p = 0.52). Conclusion: The beneficial effect of free medicine distribution does not depend on the number of medicines prescribed. These findings can help inform changes to medicine access policies in Canada.M.Sc