Patterns and Predictors of Repeated Medication Nonadherence in Glaucoma: A Population-Based Study

Background/Objectives: We aimed to evaluate nonadherence to topical glaucoma therapy and identify risk factors for repeated prescription fulfillment failure in a large national population-based cohort.

Methods

The electronic medical records from a large health maintenance organization were retrospectively reviewed for all patients aged 18 years or older with a diagnosis of glaucoma from 2000 to 2023. Data on patients who had purchased at least one anti-glaucoma medication were retrieved. Compliance was defined as prescription fulfillment within predefined expiration windows of 1, 2, and 3 months. Repeated nonadherence was defined as three unfulfilled prescriptions within a 3-month expiration window. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify risk factors for repeated failure.