OBJECTIVES:

Phollow is a real-world evidence generator based on a cohort of users of community pharmacies. This cohort allows the study and characterization of patients undergoing treatment with certain drugs of interest.

The primary objectives were to measure therapeutic adherence and to access the quality of life (QoL) in a real-world setting of patients using antidiabetics in Portugal.

METHODS:

This is a retrospective, multicenter, cohort study of adult patients taking blood glucose lowering drugs (excluding insulins), identified in Portuguese community pharmacies. Patients were recruited to the Phollow cohort from 24th May to 7th June 2021, and medication data was retrieved through the dispense software of community pharmacies. The Phollow database contains data on all prescribed and dispensed medicines since the last 3 years prior the recruitment date. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics and QoL (EQ-5D-5L) were collected through a telephone-based questionnaire applied to patients after recruitment. Adherence was defined as the proportion of days covered (PDC) and was calculated at 1 and 2 years for each INN.

RESULTS:

A total of 160 patients were recruited in this study. The median age was 66.5 years (IQR, 61.0-74.0), 62.5% were male, 44.4% studied up to primary school, 63.2% were retired and 23.0% were living alone. The mean adherence rate at 1-year varied between 54.2% (liraglutide) and 99.3% (metformin+empagliflozin). At 2-year varied between 42.2% (vildagliptine) and 89.0% (metformin+dapagliflozin). The mean EQ-5D-5L index score was 0.84 and the mean VAS score was 63.5.

CONCLUSIONS:

The mean adherence rate varied substantially among INNs and decreased after 2 years for the majority of INNs under analysis. Our findings suggest that QoL in the study population was high. Despite the limited sample size of this research, Phollow enhances the knowledge about medication use patterns and health outcomes of Portuguese population which are key to support health technologies assessment.