Effectiveness of "Medisinstart"

"Medisinstart" is a new service developed for use in Norwegian pharmacies. It is intended for patients that are about to start a new medicine for a chronic or long-term condition. It is based on research showing that problems with newly prescribed medicines appear rapidly and that a significant portion of patients quickly becomes non-adherent. The service consists of two follow-up consultations with a pharmacist. The first at 1-2 weeks and the second at 3-5 weeks after start of the new medicine. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether "Medisinstart" increases patients' adherence to the prescribed medication. Patients' beliefs about their medicines and their motivation for adherence will also be examined. The study also aims at revealing if "Medisinstart" has additional benefits for the patient, the society and the pharmacies.