WHY DRUG CONCORDANCE?
Patient Concordance with medication is a pre-requisite for effective drug therapy. Non–concordance is a major public health problem that imposes a considerable financial burden on the NHS. HOW CAN YOU CHECK DRUG CONCORANCE? Prior to the launch of the drug efficacy clinic, patients would be admitted as an inpatient for up to 2 to 3 days. Now the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust is providing a dedicated clinic to tackle suspected non-concordance and/or true drug resistant hypertension as a day case. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLINIC? Patients have their anti-hypertensive medication administered hourly with half hourly blood pressure and pulse recordings until full therapy has been achieved. A 24 hour blood pressure monitor is fitted to the patient to provide recordings over a 24 hour period. RESULTS FROM THE CLINIC? Patients are given information about their blood pressure upon leaving the clinic. A copy of the findings along with a 24 hour graph detailing the blood pressure readings and a
