Cognitive impairment and medication adherence.

1. The findings of this study are congruent with previous work that found that subjects' knowledge about medication is not necessarily correlated with adherence to medication regimens. 2. The nature and experience of forgetting medications merits further investigation. Asking patients about forgetting medication is easy to do, and many methods of compensating for forgetfulness are available. 3. Cognitive impairment was not associated with medication adherence. Cognitively impaired elders were likely to have caregivers assisting in the administration of their medication in the period immediately after discharge from acute care facilities.