PRESCRIBER ADHERENCE TO STANDARD TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HYPERTENSION. A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Although effective pharmacological treatments for the management and control of hypertension are available, yet the prevalence of hypertension remains high coupled with its poor control worldwide. Lack of adherence of prescribers to existing guidelines for the management of hypertension, is contributing as one of the major factor to the poor control of the disease. However, in some of the countries different barriers to adherence of prescribers with standard treatment guidelines have been identified and addressed with proper interventions which have lead to improved control of hypertension. The purpose of this review paper was to explore adherence of prescribers to various international guidelines available for the treatment of hypertension in developed and developing countries as well as in Pakistan. A total of 63 studies were reviewed regarding prescriber’s adherence to standard treatment guidelines, 51 were from developed countries, nine studies were from developing countries and three were from Pakistan. It was concluded that extensive research has been conducted in developed countries regarding availability, perceptions, acceptance and adherence of prescribers to internationally available standard treatment guidelines for management of hypertension and barriers to adherence which has led to improved control of hypertension in these countries. On the other hand, in developing countries including Pakistan limited data is available in this regard. All stakeholders must work together to design strategies that can improve rational prescribing and adherence of prescribers to standard treatment guidelines for appropriate control of hypertension.