Adherence to oral antidiabetic therapy in a managed care organization: a comparison of monotherapy, combination therapy, and fixed-dose combination therapy.

Background: Although medication adherence is one of the most important aspects of the management of diabetes mellitus, low rates of adherence have been documented.

Objective: This study sought to examine medication adherence among patients with diabetes mellitus in a managed care organization who were receiving antidiabetic monotherapy (metformin or glyburide), combination therapy (metformin and glyburide), or fixed-dose combination therapy (glyburide/metformin).

Methods: Medication adherence was evaluated through a retrospective database analysis of pharmacy claims.