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Understand the benefits of simple administration that meet your patients’ needs

Simple administration and adherence

When selecting a regimen for your patients, components and configuration are important. Simple administration, reducing side effects, accessibility of medication, and maintaining an uninterrupted supply of ART medication can help patients overcome potential adherence barriers. Prescribing a regimen with once-daily dosing can help minimize the risk of resistance by promoting adherence through a lower pill burden.1

Consider each of your patients’ needs related to treatment administration. 

An administration approach tailored to each patient’s activities is associated with higher levels of adherence. Regimens that support adherence may bear the following characteristics1:

  • Once-daily dosing1

  • Smaller pill size1

  • Lower pill burden1

  • Fewer side effects1

  • No food requirement1

According to the DHHS guidelines, once-daily dosing can help minimize the risk of resistance by promoting adherence through a lower pill burden.1

Potential benefits of simplified administration:


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Low pill burden1

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Lower dose frequency1

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Decreased healthcare costs2

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Fewer co-pays2

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Fewer prescriptions needed3 

Single-tablet regimen (STR) vs multi-tablet regimen (MTR)

While data that support or refute the superiority of an STR versus a once-daily MTR are limited, the study recapped below suggests that an STR may offer advantages.1

A simplified treatment such as an STR can help provide sustained viral suppression, allowing for improved immune function. In a clinical comparison of a STR (vs an MTR), virologic suppression (<50 copies/mL) was greater in patients using an STR (~84%) (n=622) compared to an MTR (~78%) (n=406).3

It’s important to note that this study is not representative of all studies and that individual results can vary.


View study design

This was a retrospective study of patients initiating antiretroviral therapy at Thomas Street Health Center (TSHC), a free-standing HIV clinic that is part of the county-run Harris Health System in Harris County, Texas. The study retrospectively compared adherence, retention in care, and virologic outcomes between patients starting a once-daily single-tablet regimen (STR) to patients starting a once-daily multi-tablet regimen (MTR).3

For illustrative purposes only. Not actual patient or physician.

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Explore more details around the importance of viral suppression. 

Simple administration can help promote adherence, which may reduce the risk of drug resistance.1

ART, antiretroviral therapy; DHHS, US Department of Health and Human Services.

References:

  1. Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents. Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents in adults and adolescents with HIV. Department of Health and Human Services. Updated May 26, 2023. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/sites/default/files/guidelines/documents/guidelines-adult-adolescent-arv.pdf
  2. Vitoria M, Ford N, Doherty M, Flener C. Simplification of antiretroviral therapy: a necessary step in the public health response to HIV/AIDS in resource-limited settings. Antivir Ther. 2014;19(suppl 3):31-37.
  3. Hemmige V, Flash C, Carter J, Giordano T, Zerai T. Single tablet HIV regimens facilitate virologic suppression and retention in care among treatment naïve patients. AIDS Care. 2018;30(8):1017-1024.