LAUSR

We aimed to assess the validity of an announced telephone pill count in people with type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease by comparing this method to a home‐visit pill count. We also assessed whether a second telephone pill count improved accuracy. People aged ≥35 years using oral type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease medication were included. Thirty‐four participants completed a telephone pill count followed by a home‐visit pill count, and a subsample of this population (n = 11) completed a second telephone pill count. Scatterplots were used for a visual representation of the number of pills counted with both methods, intraclass correlation coefficients for agreement, and Bland‐Altman plots for absolute differences and outliers. A total of 203 pill counts were conducted. The study population consisted of 53% men, with a mean age of 69.6 (±9.2) years and an average of 6.1 (±2.8) medication prescriptions per participant. Scatterplots showed that pills counted with both methods were mostly scattered around the y = x equation. Agreement between the first telephone pill count and home‐visit pill count was high, with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.96 (medication count level) and 0.98 (individual level). No learning effects were observed in the subsample (n = 11), the intraclass correlation coefficient for the first telephone pill count was 0.88 versus 0.89 for the second telephone pill count. Bland‐Altman plots indicated high agreement between the two methods. An announced telephone pill count is considered a valid alternative for a home‐visit pill count in people with type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. A single pill count appears sufficient.