Telephone calls reduce mortality

Do most of our patients take their medication the way we want them to? The answer is most likely no. After three decades of adherence research we are aware of the scope of the problem, but understand little of its causes and lack reliable methods to improve medicine‐taking by patients.

A recent trial published in the BMJ and reviewed in this issue (see pages 16‐17) is a valuable addition to current adherence research showing that telephone counselling by a pharmacist was able to reduce death rates by 41 per cent. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Interface Ltd