Not taking medication as prescribed is called non-adherence. Many people never fill their prescriptions, or they may never pick up their filled prescriptions from the pharmacy. Other people bring their medication home, but don’t follow their health care professional’s instructions – they skip doses or stop taking the medicine. Specifically, non-adherence includes: • Not filling a new prescription or refilling an existing prescription when you are supposed to; Taking medication correctly may seem like a simple or personal matter, but non-adherence is a complicated and common problem. Nearly three out of four Americans report that they do not always take their medicine as directed. There are many reasons why people are not able to take their medicines – including forgetfulness, lack of belief in the medicine’s effectiveness, being unsure the medicine is working, fear of side effects, trouble taking the medicine (especially with injections or inhalers) and cost of medicines. Often there is no single reason someone does not take their medicine as directed, but rather a combination of reasons. One person may face different barriers at different times as he or she manages his or her condition. Whatever the reason, the result is always the same –patients miss out on life-saving benefits, a better quality of life, and lose protection against future illness or serious health complications. For instance, not keeping blood pressure in check can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure; not keeping diabetes under control can lead to amputation, blindness, and heart disease. Cost of medicine, co-payments, and co-insurance are common reasons that some patients do not take their medicine as directed. Consumers should check with their health plans about their prescription drug coverage, and make sure they are getting the most out of it. They should also check with their healthcare provider or pharmacist about whether a medicine is available as a generic. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers have programs to help patients who need assistance paying for their prescription medicines. Here are a few resources to assist with the cost of prescription drugs: Benefits CheckUp: Prescription Drug Assistance National Council on Aging website that helps seniors with limited income and resources make the best decisions about the public and private programs that are available to help them save money Helps underinsured people with life-threatening, chronic and rare diseases get the medications and treatment they need by paying for their out-of-pocket costs. Partnership for Prescription Assistance Programs around the country that help patients, caregivers and prescribers access free or low-cost prescription drugs. Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Consumers Union, the group that publishes Consumer Reports, picks the best drugs to treat certain conditions based on how well the drugs work, safety, side effects and cost. Also available in Spanish. Some people with limited resources and income also are eligible for Extra Help to pay for the costs – monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription co-payments – related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. Nearly half of Americans (133 million) are diagnosed with at least one long-term health condition, like asthma or diabetes. People with these common conditions take their medicine as directed only 50-60% of the time. It is likely you or someone you know has one of these conditions and is struggling to take their medicine as directed—and this can have serious health consequences. Approximately 125,000 people die each year in the United States because of not taking medicine as directed. About one third of medicine-related hospital admissions in the United States are linked to non-adherence. Not only does it cost patients their health, but it also costs the country nearly $300 billion each year in additional costs for doctor visits, emergency room visits, hospital admissions and additional medicine. Please visit the Script Your Future Health Care Professional website for more information about the importance of medication adherence and how you can learn more. Basic background pieces include: • World Health Organization (WHO) Report on Adherence Here are a few resources about safe medicine use :
Medication adherence simply means sticking to your prescription. Adhering to medication is taking the medication as directed by a health care professional – whether taken in pill form, inhaled, injected, or applied topically.
• Stopping a medicine before the instructions say you should;
• Taking more or less of the prescribed medicine; and
• Taking the medicine at the wrong time.
on prescription drugs and other healthcare costs.
• National Community Pharmacists Association Medication Adherence in America: A NATIONAL REPORT
• National Council for Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) Medication Adherence National Adherence Action Agenda
All medicines have risks and benefits. When a patient works with their health care professional to decide to use medicine to help manage a long-term health condition, he or she accepts certain risks in exchange for potential health benefits. Consumers can help manage those risks by using medicines safely, including storing and disposing of them safely.
If patients have any issues with their medicine that keep them from taking it as directed, they should start by talking to a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, nurse practitioner, or other health care professional to learn about options or tools that can help. They can also check ScriptYourFuture.org to find tools and resources to help.
NCL will also look at the following: Quantitative and qualitative communications metrics – including web analytics and media coverage Committed Partner Engagement Research and Data Partnerships as possible Based on these metrics, NCL will continue to track how consumers have been exposed to the importance of medication adherence and communication with healthcare professionals in order to improve their health.
Our efforts in specific cities and states will reflect the national messages while complementing existing local medication adherence efforts and providing additional supports, such as local coalitions committed to improving adherence. What we learn from our work on the local level can help inform and improve the national campaign.
Campaign Partners also realize valuable benefits from their participation, such as helping to shape the campaign and gaining access to messaging and materials for distribution to their constituencies. If your organization is interested in joining the campaign, please contact NCL at info@scriptyourfuture.org.
However, this campaign is about medication adherence. The campaign goal is specifically about improving awareness about adherence, so we need to keep the focus on that aspect of chronic disease management. To try to address other aspects such as physical activity, healthy eating, etc., while important, will be confusing and dilute our message.