Endocrinology & Metabolic Syndrome
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-1017
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-1017
+44 1478 350008
John Yfantopoulos
Professor of Health Economics University of Athens Greece
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: EMS
Hippocrates (400 B.C) was the first to describe the non-adherence to therapies WHO defines adherence as a chronic condition with a significant impact on the economy the health system and the society in general. Non-adherence to treatment is often cited as crucial contributor to the waste of healthcare resources. Poor adherence leads to suboptimal health outcomes and increased avoidable morbidity and mortality as well as to considerable additional healthcare costs, being instrumental to the inefficiency of health systems Understanding the association between patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and their chronic conditions is important, as it provides the tools to develop better management strategies for these diseases.(1) An important factor influencing the doctor-patient relationship is the time devoted to patient. Image 1 presents the positive relationship between the average time spent per patient and the encouragement on behalf of the doctors for their patients to be part of the decision for the prescribed treatment. Overcoming non-adherence to medication remains a challenge for endocrinologists, who must grasp the nature of an intervention before its application. The barriers confronted by the Greek doctors, in promoting medicine adherence for their patients, were investigated in a sample of 199 doctors. Several dimensions related to their work load, training programs, financial incentives, lack of resources, and the absence of an integrated system were analysed. A five level Likert scale was used to assess the strength of their preference. Image 2 provides a visual impression of doctors’ hierarchical preference ordering. Almost half of the doctors reported that the most important barriers were the lack of integrated care and the limited resources to promote adherence on behalf of the State. This finding is also supported by the existing literature, because Greece is far behind in comparison to other European Countries(2) in the development of an integrated care system Other reported barriers are related to work load and inadequate training for promoting adherence, relate to doctors’ work load and lack of financial kickbacks. Lack of Integrated care was significantly related to lack of adequate public resources (Rho= 0.318) (p< 0.001)
John Yfantopoulos is Professor of Health Economics at the University of Athens. He collaborated with several Universities in Europe, and the USA, He has been working and advising the European Commission, (Eurostat), the World Health Organization, the International Labor Office, and the World Bank. Recent activities in a number of Eastern European countries, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Albania include studies in the evaluation of economic efficiency, health technology assessment, Pharmaco-economics, and implementing effective health reforms He has published 35 books, as well as more than 280 articles in international journals