Top Reasons Why Patients Don’t Adhere to Treatment

Treatment can only work if the patient properly follows it. In the United States, medication nonadherence is a major problem. According to recent data, about 1 in 5 new prescriptions are never filled. Among those filled, half are not taken according to doctors’ orders for dosage, timing, frequency, and duration.

Apart from adhering to one’s medication treatment, getting prescription medication from a pharmacy is very essential as well. While this can be difficult or time-consuming, especially with the present pandemic situation, medication adherence should always be followed seriously.

Poor medication adherence may result in faulty therapeutic decisions, such as physician escalation of therapies when clinical metrics appear to be underachieved. It also results in greater hospitalization and emergency department rates, higher mortality, and worse patient outcomes. The most common reasons why patients find it difficult to adhere to their treatment include fear, intolerable or even tolerable side effects, high costs, the complexity of multiple prescriptions and dosing regimens, and depression – research finds that depressed patients are three times more likely to have poor medication adherence.

Resolving this issue starts at the very beginning – patient instruction regarding treatment and patient education at the pharmacy level. Our pharmacy in Kissimmee, Florida addresses these ideas very well. We encourage our clients to ask questions about their medications and take the time to explain how these drugs work.

So, if you’re having a hard time adhering to treatment, call our diabetes care pharmacy in Florida – West Lake Pharmacy – today to know how to solve this problem. We will always be ready to help you with your pharmaceutical needs.