What adherence rate is suggested if a patient with diabetes indicates they may have missed one or more doses of their medication?

In assessing medication adherence in patients with diabetes, it's important to recognize that the adherence rate is often estimated based on the number of doses a patient reports missing. If a patient indicates they have missed one or more doses, a common way to estimate adherence is by evaluating the proportion of doses taken compared to those prescribed.

When a patient mentions that they have missed doses, this can indicate a lower level of adherence. In general clinical practice, if a patient reports missing a few doses, it can suggest a range of adherence rates around 60% to 70%, but 60% is often used as a baseline for discussions related to adherence challenges. This is because it is generally accepted that a reported missed dose correlates with significant issues in medication-taking behavior, suggesting that the actual adherence rate is closer to the lower end of the spectrum.

Options representing higher adherence rates, such as 70% or 80%, would imply that the patient is consistently adhering to their medication regimen despite missing doses, which contradicts the reported behavior. Thus, estimating the adherence at 60% presents a realistic interpretation of how many doses may have actually been taken compared to what was prescribed.

This highlights the complexity of adherence in diabetes management, where patient-reported outcomes can