Urine drug test may boost adherence to blood pressure medications, UK trial suggests

Article excerpt

A major U.K. trial suggests that urine tests detecting whether patients actually take their blood pressure medications could improve treatment adherence. Researchers at the University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust studied chemical adherence testing (CAT), which reveals the presence or absence of blood pressure-lowering drugs in urine. The finding matters because medication non-adherence costs the NHS billions and drives preventable strokes and heart attacks. The trial, the largest of its kind in the U.K., tested whether simply knowing their medication use was being monitored would nudge patients toward better compliance.