The challenge of adhering to the NICE guidance on medicines adherence

摘要

On 28 January 2009 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its guidance on medicines adherence. The guidance - entitled "Medicines adherence: involving patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and sup-porting adherence" - with its usual painstaking and systematic approach, is to be commended. It offers best practice advice for health professionals who prescribe and review medicines on how to involve patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and how to support adherence. This is of particular relevance to pharmacists, given that reviewing patients' medicines is a core activity for the majority of the profession and an increasing number now also prescribe medicines.