Patient satisfaction and medication adherence assessment amongst patients at the diabetes medication therapy adherence clinic

AimsTo determine the satisfaction and current adherence status of patients with diabetes mellitus at the diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic and the relationship between patient satisfaction and adherence.MethodsThis cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at three government hospitals in the state of Johor, Malaysia. Patient's satisfaction was measured using the Patient Satisfaction with Pharmaceutical Care Questionnaire; medication adherence was measured using the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale.ResultsOf n = 165 patients, 87.0% of patients were satisfied with DMTAC service (score 60–100) with mean scores of 76.8. On the basis of MMAS, 29.1% had a medium rate and 26.1% had a high rate of adherence. Females are 3.02 times more satisfied with the pharmaceutical service compared to males (OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.12–8.24, p < 0.05) and non-Malays are less satisfied with pharmaceutical care provided during DMTAC compared to Malays (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12–0.85, p < 0.05). Older patients age group ≥60 years were 3.29 times more likely to adhere to their medications (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.10–9.86, p < 0.05). Females were the most adherent compared to males (OR 2.33, 95%CI 1.10–4.93, p < 0.05) and patients with secondary level of education were 2.72 times more adherent to their medications compared to those in primary school and no formal education (OR 2.72, 95%CI 1.13–6.55, p < 0.05). There is a significant (p < 0.01), positive fair correlation (r = 0.377) between satisfaction and adherence.ConclusionPatients were highly satisfied with DMTAC service, while their adherence levels were low. There is an association between patient satisfaction and adherence.