Longitudinal Patterns of Medication Nonadherence and Associated Health Care Costs.

Background: Nonadherence to treatment recommendations is associated with poorer outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease and may increase the cost of care. We examined the longitudinal relationship between nonadherence and health care costs and hypothesized that at least 3 distinct trajectories of nonadherence would be observed and that increasing nonadherence would account for significantly greater health care costs after controlling for disease activity.

Methods: Ninety-nine patients aged 2 to 21 years with inflammatory bowel disease were recruited into this 2-year longitudinal study.

The Telehealth Enhancement of Adherence to Medication (TEAM) in pediatric IBD trial: Design and methodology.

Medication nonadherence is a significant health care issue requiring regular behavioral treatment. Lack of sufficient health care resources and patient/family time commitment for weekly treatment are primary barriers to receiving appropriate self-management support. We describe the methodology of the Telehealth Enhancement of Adherence to Medication (TEAM) trial for medication nonadherence in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).