The Daily Medication Frequency at Which Participants Begin to Perceive Dosing as Excessive: A Questionnaire-Based Study Using the Personal Health Record Infrastructure via Electronic Medication Notebooks

Maintaining medication adherence remains a major clinical challenge, as higher daily dosing frequencies are often associated with decreased adherence. Although once-daily regimens are generally preferred, specific patient preferences regarding dosing frequency are unclear, despite implications for improving patient satisfaction and optimizing pharmacotherapy. Here, we evaluated the frequency at which patients begin to perceive dosing as excessive. A web-based questionnaire survey using the personal health record infrastructure of electronic medication notebooks was administered between July 20 and 26, 2023. Eligible participants were aged ≥20 years and had received oral tablets or capsules within 90 d of the survey. The questionnaire consisted of 6 items, including whether participants felt that the daily medication frequency was excessive. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the frequency beyond which patients perceive dosing as excessive, adjusting for confounders, such as medication formulation, number of medications, and patient characteristics. Of 1478 respondents, 1236 were included in the analysis. In total, 28.9% of participants reported that their medication frequency felt excessive. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, twice-daily or more frequent dosing was significantly associated with the perception of excessiveness, using once-daily dosing as the reference. Twice-daily dosing is the frequency beyond which patients are significantly more likely to perceive medication as excessive. Our findings emphasize the importance of simplifying dosing regimens.