The simple act of taking your medication the right way may not seem like a complex matter, but non-adherence (or not taking medication as directed by your physician) is a complicated and very common problem. It is estimated that three out of four people in our country do not take their medication as directed. Often times, people do not realize the effects that not taking their medication as prescribed can cause. When patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, or cardiovascular disease do not take medication as directed, the repercussions can be severe. For instance, not keeping your blood pressure under control can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.
It is hard to directly correlate poor health outcomes to non-adherence, but some studies estimate that poor medication adherence takes the lives of 125,000 Americans each year and costs the health care system nearly $300 billion. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD. once stated, “Drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.” There are many reasons why someone may not be adherent with their medications;
- It can be easy to forget to take a dose, or they may run out of refills
- Some people don’t like to admit they have a medical condition or can be in denial
- Many medications cause side effects or make people feel poorly when taken
- Some medications are very expensive! People often try to split doses or take every other day to save money.
At our pharmacies we have solution to help with adherence, ReadyMed. ReadyMed is a prescription auto refill program that will make sure your prescriptions are ready for you when you need them. Our pharmacy team will work to prepare your prescriptions, contact your provider for refills when necessary, notify you when they are ready, and ensure that you have less to worry about! Life is busy, let us help you manage your prescriptions.
