When patients fill a prescription, it does not always mean that they will follow through on the vital part: taking it. Taking medicine as prescribed is known as medication adherence – and it is a practice every so often neglected.
Turns out, about 60% of patients with chronic situations like diabetes or high blood pressure don’t take their medicines precisely how they are supposed to,1 and 1 in 5 patients never get their medicines filled in the first place.
That is true for mental health medicines too. As per studies, over 50% of participants didn’t take their antidepressants as agreed, and 44% had stopped taking them entirely within 2-3 months.
These behaviors are called medicine nonadherence, and they have negative results for everyone involved.
According to P&S Intelligence, the global medication adherence market is witnessing growth and is projected to reach USD 11,226.3 million by 2030.
Why Is Medication Adherence Important?
Medication adherence is a vital factor in guaranteeing the success of a treatment plan.
Medication Adherence Ensures That You Give Every Treatment Option a Fair Shot
Medicine adherence is vital as it permits you and your doctor to do a precise assessment of how well medication and dosage operate for your treatment. If you don’t take your medicine reliably and as directed, you won’t truly know if it can help relieve your symptoms or not.
Numerous drugs require to be taken consistently to show their intended impacts. For instance, antidepressants such as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors typically need daily administration for two or more weeks to feel the helpful effects.
Adherence can also include taking medication at the same time daily. Some medications, like birth control, must be taken around the same time every day so that the right amount of medicine is always in your body. Too much or too little of a medication in your system can cause side effects or inefficacy.
Moreover, some medications have precise directions for eating before, with, or after food. Adhering to food-linked instructions can aid in lowering your danger of side effects in some examples. In other cases, adherence can guarantee the impacts of a drug are not being advanced or inhibited by food.
Medication Adherence Can Prevent New or Worsening Health Problems
Failure to follow your prescriptions, or medicine nonadherence, can negatively affect your quality of life.
Every year, medicine nonadherence leads to around 100,00 preventable deaths — and it keeps individuals from living a well, happy life.
If you don’t follow your prescribed medicine routine, your treatment might not operate as it is intended. 40-50% of chronic illness treatment failure can be credited to medicine nonadherence, as per the CDC. This treatment failure can result in new health issues and/or exacerbate existing conditions.
For instance, if you don’t take your blood pressure medicine, you become at risk for long-term heart illness, stroke, heart attack, or kidney failure. Unexpected health issues like these commonly direct to complications and hospitalization. In the worst-case situation, medicine nonadherence can be fatal.
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