Concordance between persons with multiple sclerosis and treating physician on medication effects and health status

Abstract

Background: As the number of treatment options for multiple sclerosis (MS) has expanded, alignment between physician and patient on effects of medication has emerged as important for medication persistence/discontinuation. Objective: To evaluate physician–patient agreement levels on medication effect and health status. Methods: Persons with MS (PwMS) (n=71) participated in a cross-sectional study collect-ing their satisfaction (using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication), inten-tion to dis/continue treatment and global health perception; physicians assessed response to medication and global health status. Results: Concordance between PwMS' assessment of medication effectiveness and physi-cian’s assessment on response to medication, health status and EDSS were rs= 0.50, rs= 0.57 and rs= −0.58, respectively. Conclusion: The significant concordance attests to physician–patient effective communication and may contribute to improved medication adherence.