The Diabetes Medication Adherence Promotion Intervention Trial

A significant percentage of persons with diabetes fail to properly take their prescribed oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) and insulin. Non-adherence to medications among diabetes patients is associated with poor health outcomes including suboptimal glycemic control, diabetes-related complications, elevated health costs and increased risk of hospitalization and mortality. Given the substantial impact of non-compliance on the health of patients, prior studies have sought to draw links between medication adherence and patient factors. Research shows that web-based interventions that support patients' medication-related knowledge, motivation and skills effectively improve compliance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a patient web portal (PWP)-delivered medication adherence promotion intervention on medication adherence and glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The intervention aims to (1) increase self-reported adherence to glucose lowering agents (GLAs) and (2) improve diabetes health outcomes (decreased HbA1c) by increasing patients' medication adherence-related knowledge, motivation and skills. This research will greatly enhance the investigators' understanding of medicine compliance and the factors that effectively improve adherence among high-risk patients with diabetes. Knowledge gained from this work may inform future internet-based patient portals that support disease management and medication adherence more broadly.