Switching, Persistence and Adherence to Statin Therapy: a Retrospective Cohort Study Using the Australian National Pharmacy Data.

Long-term persistence and adherence to statins remains generally poor among Australians, which limits the effectiveness of these medicines and the consequent health impact they may provide for individuals (and by extension, the population impact when poor persistence and adherence is considered in the statin-taking population). Switching between statins is prevalent in one third of statin users, although any clinical benefit of the observed switching trend is unknown. This, combined with the high volume of statin prescriptions, highlights the need for better strategies to address poor persistence and adherence.