Drug information sources and antidepressant adherence.

The purpose of the study was to examine how patient sources of antidepressant information were related to antidepressant adherence. Eight community pharmacies in central North Carolina participated in the study. A research assistant interviewed eighty-one English-speaking patients who were picking up antidepressant refill prescriptions. Patients most frequently reported receiving antidepressant information from: pharmacists (58%), primary care physicians (50.6%), mental health specialists (40.7%), friends or family members (32.1%), and the Internet (18.5%). Patients experiencing more side effects were significantly less adherent to their antidepressants. Patients who received antidepressant information from more sources were significantly more adherent to their regimen than patients who received information from fewer sources.