Primary medication non-adherence at Counties Manukau Health Emergency Department (CMH-ED), New Zealand: an observational study

ObjectivesTo measure primary medication non-adherence (failure to fill prescription medicines) in patients discharged from the emergency department (ED), and to determine whether sociodemographic factors, smoking status and access to a general practitioner affect prescription filling. Little is known about primary medication non-adherence in EDs, and less so in New Zealand (NZ). Identifying reasons for non-adherence will enable development of strategies to improve adherence and reduce morbimortality.Design and settingAn observational study based on patient data from the ED of a large public hospital in South Auckland, NZ.ParticipantsData were collected from 1600 patients discharged between 28 April–6 May and 28 July–9 August 2014. Data were included if patients were residents within the Auckland Regional Public Health Service boundaries, admitted to ED and discharged with a prescription. Data were excluded if patients were admitted to another ward, transferred to another hospital or left the ED without seeing a doctor.Results992 patients were included in the study, the majority were under 10 years (32.6%), of Pacific Island descent (42.8%), NZ-born (67.7%) and living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas (78.1%). Almost 50% of patients failed to fill all prescription medications. Simple linear regression analysis indicated that non-adherence was significant for those 10–24 years (n=236; adherence=47.2%; p