The DISPENSe trial: testing whether longer dispensing durations for adults taking blood pressure lowering medicines and receiving medicine by post helps people to take their medicines more regularly and saves them money.

The DISPENSe trial: DISPensing duration and mEdicatioN adherence Study - A two-arm, parallel, open-label, prospective, non-inferiority randomised controlled trial with all follow-up being conducted via routinely collected data, and conducted in adults taking blood pressure lowering medicines.

Status

Not yet recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12626000131358

Acronym

DISPENSe

Enrollment

3600

Registered

2026-02-03

Start date

2026-03-31

Completion date

2028-03-31

Last updated

2026-02-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The primary purpose of the study is to provide randomised, controlled trial evidence to show whether medication adherence improves with use of a longer dispensing duration for BP-lowering medicines. The results will also provide evidence around cost minimisation. The hypothesis is that, at minimum, medical adherence will remain the same, or may improve in this population. Secondly, the results will provide evidence of longer dispensing durations bringing cost savings to the government and the majority of individuals.

Interventions

1. The frequency of dispensing duration on blood pressure lowering medicines will be extended to test 60 day and 90 day durations. The medicines and doses a participant takes will not change. Participants will be on the intervention for a minimum of 18 months. Their original dispensing duration for these medicines will have been 30 days or 60 days. Participants will be randomised to 1 of the trial arms and they will remain in this arm. Medical adherence will be measured by proxy of filled pres

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Ability to provide informed consent to participate in the trial 2. Adults aged 18 years and over 3. Currently prescribed medication for hypertension 4. Judged by their GP to be suitable for 60 or 90 day dispensing

Exclusion criteria

1. Not willing to be randomised to either treatment arm 2. Not willing to participate in trial activities including use of e-prescriptions, MySL and postal delivery

Outcome results