4 top reasons patients don’t adhere to their medication
By: Prescryptive Health
Prescribers know it better than most: Medication nonadherence is a major challenge. An estimated 50% of patients don’t take their meds as prescribed, leading to unnecessary health complications and a higher rate of readmissions. The problem is nothing new, but the solutions are. Enhancements to prescription technology give providers and patients more options, making it easier to stick to a prescription plan.
As awareness grows, the meaning of medication noncompliance and its impacts become clearer. But the causes aren’t as obvious. Every patient brings their own life challenges to the doctor’s office. That means there’s no easy fix. But when prescribers have a clearer picture of a patient’s medicine-taking behavior, they can work to make the prescription experience easier.
4 top reasons patients don’t take their medications as prescribed:
1. COST
Some patients simply can’t afford their prescriptions. High costs are a big reason an estimated 81 million prescriptions each year never get picked up.* But when patients have more prescription power in their hands, they know the cost before they get to the pharmacy counter. That means no surprises and a much better chance they’ll leave with the medicine they need. The confidence that comes with knowing they own their prescriptions will push more patients to adhere.
2. FEAR
The potential of prescription drug side effects can scare some people. If they’ve experienced negative side effects from similar drugs in the past, or know someone who has, it can deter them from taking it. Helping patients understand how to take their medications and what to watch for can alleviate that fear and build trust. And connecting with community pharmacists to help deliver ongoing support will keep patients on a healthy path.
3. INCONVENIENCE
People are busy, and adding one more thing to their to-do list is sometimes too much. If picking up and taking their meds feels like a chore, adherence is less likely to happen. That’s where mobile-first technology comes in. With myPrescryptive, a patient can compare prescription prices from their mobile phone, consider more ways to pay (cash or insurance), and make the entire pharmacy experience easier. When things are easier, patients are more likely to pick up and take medications as prescribed.
4. MEDICATION MANAGEMENT
When a patient is prescribed several medications or required to follow complicated schedules, the chances they’re nonadherent go up. Improving patient compliance might be as easy as writing things down. Calendars, pill cards, and medicine cabinets on their mobile phones can help organize prescription schedules and can improve adherence and make a busy life a little easier.
There are many ways to enhance the prescription drug experience. Understanding adherence challenges and using technology that empowers, can help to help patients live healthier lives, and save prescribers time.
For more information, check out Prescryptive’s Prescriber Solutions and myPrescryptive.