Perspectives

Outcomes Study: Evaluating Health Literacy and Disease Activity in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Written by admin | Oct 10, 2024 2:59:41 PM

Members of our team had the opportunity to present a new poster abstract at the NASP 2024 Annual Meeting held October 6 – 9.

 

Authors

Brooke Stephen, PharmD Candidate 2025 | Anthony DeAngelis III, PharmD, CSP | Carly Giavatto, PharmD | Casey Fitzpatrick, PharmD, BCPS | Andrew Wash, PharmD, PhD | Ana I. Lopez-Medina, PharmD, PhD ​| Amber Skrtic, PharmD, CSP, AAHIVP | Jami Schell, PharmD | Jessica Mourani, PharmD 

 

Background

  • Health literacy is a critical component of one’s health care status as patients with limited health literacy have difficulties managing chronic conditions, poor adherence, and, consequently, higher rates of hospitalization.1,2
  • For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), research has revealed that patients with higher health literacy have a better understanding of their disease state compared to patients with lower health literacy.3
  • The health-system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) model has been shown to improve medication access, adherence, and persistence, resulting in optimized clinical outcomes.4
  • Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being utilized in HSSP practice to assess patients’ experiences and health status to aid in clinical decision making.

Objectives

  • The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between health literacy and the change in patient-reported RA disease activity after treatment initiation.

 

Read about the team’s findings by downloading the outcomes study below.