Abbott's a:care programme helps combat non-adherence and reimagine care

The No.1 improvement of healthcare is improving the adherence to medical treatments

In Vietnam, non-adherence rate among patients living with chronic conditions is still high, at more than 50 per cent in case of hypertension. The study also revealed that two-thirds of people living with Type 2 diabetes have uncontrolled blood sugar levels and 31.9 per cent of people diagnosed with this condition were not adherent to their medication. Addressing this challenge of poor adherence can therefore be beneficial for Vietnam’s rising diabetic population of 3.8 million people, which is projected to double by 2045.

Sharing with media on the upcoming Global Congress on medication adherence and behavioural science, scheduled on October 20-21, Dr. Sheri Pruitt, clinical psychologist and behavioural science consultant said that, “Adherence is an observable and measurable behaviour that is typically repeated, such as taking a daily medication or exercising. When patients don’t adhere to advice, behavioural science can provide interventions that help them change their behaviour.”

With the aim to combat non-adherence and reimagine care, Abbott has unveiled the 'a:care' programme to empower patients to take small, manageable steps to drive better treatment adherence and build lasting change. Since its launch in 2019, Abbott offers a:care, a pioneering well-designed healthcare ecosystem empowers and supports doctors, pharmacists, caregivers, and patients with online and offline assets to take charge of their health for a better and healthier life.

The a:care pro website launched in 2020 provides doctors and pharmacists access to tools and information to help patients better understand, manage, and monitor their conditions. To date, more than 45,000 healthcare professionals globally and 4,000 healthcare professionals from Vietnam attended the a:care masterclasses educating in the latest behavioural science techniques on how to best help people on their health journey.

Noel Hanley, divisional vice president of Abbott’s Medicines Business said, “The WHO has recognised that the No.1 thing we can do today to improve the health of the overall population is to increase adherence to treatments. The a:care programme, developed by Abbott, aims to educate healthcare professionals and empower patients to take their medicines as prescribed, to ensure medicines work as intended, and lead to better health. That is why, as part of our relentless work to improve people’s health, we are working on ways to help more people follow their doctor’s advice more often, so that they can live healthier and fuller lives.”

On the same note, John Weinman, professor of psychology as applied to Medicines at King’s College London said, “Being involved in the a:care programme has been a great experience as it has been wonderful to see, first-hand, the great interest and responsiveness it has engendered in doctors in so many countries. It is an ambitious and novel programme, which is reaching out to doctors to enhance their understanding and support of treatment adherence in their patients. Never before has a programme focused on the crucial role of doctors and provided such a well-planned and evidence-based approach to improving treatment adherence."