How To Measure Improved Adherence From On-Site Dispensing: A Practical Guide For Medical Practices

Introduction

On-site dispensing changes care delivery from “prescribed” to “in hand,” transforming patient intention into action. For medical practices that partner with A-S Medication Solutions (ASM), this innovation eliminates the traditional pharmacy barrier helping patients start treatment immediately and stay consistent.

To truly demonstrate the value of this model, practices must measure what matters. This guide explains how to measure improved adherence from on-site dispensing, using clean data, credible definitions, and integrated workflows. For a deeper look into how point-of-care dispensing enhances patient access and clinical efficiency, visit our page on Point of Care Dispensing.

Clarify Objectives and Define Adherence

Accurate adherence measurement begins with clarity. Adherence means patients take medications exactly as prescribed across days and refills. Persistence tracks how long they remain on therapy before stopping. While compliance is an older term suggesting passive behavior, adherence recognizes shared decision-making and accountability between patients and providers.

For chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, or depression, adherence shows daily medication coverage, while persistence reveals long-term continuity. Both insights together demonstrate the success of on-site dispensing in promoting consistent care.

Why On-Site Dispensing Improves Adherence

A-S Medication Solutions point-of-care dispensing system minimizes friction between the signed prescription and the first dose. Instead of sending patients to an outside pharmacy, they leave the practice with medication in hand. This model removes travel, cost confusion, and wait-time barriers that often disrupt the first fill or refills, key reasons why adherence rates improve dramatically when medication access happens on-site.

According to Pharmacy Times, simplified medication access and consistent communication at the point of care have become leading factors in improving adherence outcomes.

Selecting the Right Metrics for Measurement

To measure improved adherence from on-site dispensing, medical practices should focus on metrics that capture both access and consistency. The most widely recognized measures are the Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) and the Medication Possession Ratio (MPR), which quantify how reliably patients maintain medication supply over time. According to the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), PDC is now considered the industry standard for evaluating long-term medication use, since it accurately reflects whether patients have their medication available each day.

Because A-S Medication Solutions provides detailed dispensing data directly from the clinic, practices can calculate these metrics automatically without depending on outside pharmacy records. This real-time visibility allows providers to see whether patients are starting and maintaining therapy on schedule. Supporting indicators such as time to first fill, refill timeliness, and same-day start rate can add valuable insight into how quickly patients begin treatment and how consistently they return for refills.

For instance, a shorter time to first fill and a higher same-day start rate often signal that on-site dispensing is removing traditional barriers to medication access. Meanwhile, steady refill patterns confirm persistence and treatment continuity. When practices track these numbers through ASM's’ integrated platform, they gain measurable proof that their dispensing model not only improves convenience but also delivers sustained adherence outcomes.

Data Integration and Quality Assurance

Effective adherence measurement relies on accurate and connected data sources. Electronic Health Records help identify patient information, prescription orders, and therapy goals, ensuring that each adherence report reflects real clinical activity. Dispensing logs from A-S Medication Solutions automatically capture fill dates, lot details, and pickup confirmations, providing a reliable record of every medication event that occurs on-site. For patients who sometimes fill prescriptions externally, integrating claims data completes the picture and prevents information gaps.

Maintaining secure data linkage and patient privacy remains a top priority. The FDA’s Drug Supply Chain Security Act provides essential guidance on ensuring product traceability. While the NABP Drug Distributor Accreditation confirms that every medication distributor meets the highest standards of safety and accountability, benchmarks consistently upheld by A-S MEDS across all 50 states. Through this level of integration and compliance, practices gain confidence that their adherence data are both accurate and audit-ready.

Analyzing and Reporting Adherence Results

Once the data are complete, practices can compare pre- and post-implementation adherence metrics to assess impact. Tracking PDC, refill timeliness, and same-day start rates provides evidence of real-world improvement.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recommends presenting results with clear visuals, confidence intervals, and simple reporting formats. Dashboards and run charts make it easy for teams to interpret trends and identify areas for intervention.

Sustaining Improvement Over Time

Adherence gains are strongest when supported by feedback loops. A-S MEDS helps practices implement automated refill reminders, synchronize schedules, and connect clinical support programs such as HealthAlly for ongoing patient engagement.

This proactive structure reinforces adherence habits, ensuring that on-site dispensing doesn’t just improve initial fills, it sustains persistence throughout therapy.

Conclusion

By adopting A-S Medication Solutions integrated dispensing and reporting systems, practices can measure improved adherence from on-site dispensing confidently and accurately. Clear definitions, high-quality data, and consistent reporting create a reliable framework for tracking outcomes and proving value.

To learn more about A-S Medication Solutions’ nationwide licensing, FDA and DEA registrations, and NABP accreditation, visit our About page.

For consultation or implementation support, contact our team through A-S MEDS Contact today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I measure improved adherence from on-site dispensing?

Track a core set of on-site dispensing adherence metrics: PDC and MPR for coverage, time to first fill and same-day start for initiation, refill timeliness and gap days for continuity, and pickup rate and persistence for durability. Use integrated EHR orders, on-site dispensing logs, and external claims to capture complete histories.

What’s the difference between adherence, persistence, and compliance in point of care dispensing?

Adherence reflects day-to-day medication coverage as prescribed; persistence measures how long patients remain on therapy without exceeding a permissible gap; compliance is an older term implying passivity. For on-site dispensing, adherence shows coverage improvements, while persistence reveals sustained therapy each offers distinct, complementary insight.

PDC vs. MPR: which metric should I use to evaluate on-site dispensing?

Use PDC as your primary on-site dispensing adherence metric. It overlaps and better represents real-world coverage across an observation window. MPR can supplement operational views. Both require accurate dispensing dates and days’ supply, which your on-site logs provide, enabling reliable, repeatable calculations.

How should I design cohorts and comparisons to prove the impact of on-site dispensing?

Define cohorts by condition and therapy class, set the index as the first on-site fill, and exclude limited follow-up or hospice patients. Compare pre- / post-windows, matched external-fill controls, or a difference-in-differences design. Stratify by baseline adherence, risk, and equity segments to show who benefits most.

What is a good PDC benchmark for chronic conditions, and what change is meaningful?

A PDC of 80% or higher is a common benchmark for chronic therapies like antihypertensives and antidiabetics. Meaningful improvement often looks like a 5–10 percentage point increase or more, ideally with confidence intervals and effect sizes reported demonstrating practical significance alongside statistical certainty.

How often should I report on on-site dispensing adherence metrics, and what dashboards help?

Monitor leading indicators (same-day start, visit-linked fills, pickup confirmations) weekly, and report PDC, refill timeliness, persistence, and gap days monthly or quarterly. Role-based dashboards with run charts and benchmarks help teams see trends, flag stalls, and prioritize interventions without overcomplicating the view.