The effect of conflicting medication information and physician support on medication adherence for chronically ill patients

ObjectiveThis article explores the effect of conflicting information, defined as contradictory information about medication topics from different sources, on medication adherence in a sample of chronically ill patients. We specifically investigate whether conflicting information and physician support directly affect medication adherence or whether the effect is mediated by adherence self-efficacy and outcome expectations for medications.MethodsVasculitis patients (n = 228) completed two on-line questionnaires which contained measures of conflicting information, adherence self-efficacy, outcome expectations, physician support, and medication adherence. We conducted a mediation analysis using a bootstrapping approach to generate point estimates and 95% confidence intervals to test the significance of each mediated effect.ResultsA majority of patients (51.3%) received conflicting medication information. Conflicting information had a direct negative effect on medication adherence, which was not mediated by self-efficacy or outcome expectations. Alternatively, self-efficacy mediated the positive effect of physician support on medication adherence.ConclusionPatients who encounter conflicting medication information are less adherent to their medications. The presence of a supportive physician may counteract the negative effect of conflicting medication information.Practice implicationsPhysicians should initiate conversations about conflicting medication information with their patients. Consensus-based guidelines that address medication discrepancies may also reduce the availability of conflicting information.