Blood test measures medication adherence in HIV patients

Taking your medications at the right time and according to doctor’s recommendations is especially importanrt for HIV-positive individuals because medication adherence prevents the spread of the disease.

Researchers at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz have developed a new test to determine just how well their HIV patients are sticking to their medication plans, which can help to stop the spread of HIV.

The test takes a drop of dried blood and analyzed the levels of pre-exposure prophylactic (PrEP) medication the patients has taken. The only FDA approved drug for HIV prevention, PrEP is more than 90 percent effective in stopping the spread of this disease when taken as intended. This new test can evaluate how much PrEP a patient has taken in the past two months and shows if they are using the drug effectively.

Researchers hope that this test can help those in underprivileged areas where the spread of HIV is more common. The test is also being updated to be able to studied for medication adherence with other diseases.

"We now have a grant to develop a way to do the testing at bedside," Pete Anderson, PharmD, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences. "We also see applications for other medications. For example, our colleague Jennifer Kiser, PharmD, is evaluating if a similar test could work for hepatitis-C medications."