In patients with lifestyle-related diseases such as hyperlipidemia,medication adherence tends to be low due to lack of subjective symptoms.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a visual aid in medication guidance given to patients on statins at a community pharmacy.As the visual aid,we used the J-LIT(Japan Lipid Intervention Trial)chart,a diagram based on the results of J-LIT which helps patients visualize the risk of developing a coronary heart disease.We first developed software(J-LIT chart plotter)to enable the J-LIT chart to be displayed on a computer and then added details of the importance of treatment with statins to the chart.The effectiveness of this new way of providing information to patients was investigated using a questionnaire whose responses indicated that most patients had a better understanding of treatment with statins.This should improve adherence in statin therapy.The patients seemed satisfied with the new way of providing guidance and most of them wanted it to be continued.
In conclusion,in a community pharmacy,guidance on drug administration in which patients can understand the significance of clinical laboratory values and risk of developing coronary heart diseases visually seems to be an effective way of improving medication adherence in the case of those who have chronic diseases that require long-term treatment but show few subjective symptoms.
