Why some patients fail to take their prescriptions properly (Article)

"Medication non-adherence—when patients don’t take their medications as prescribed—is unfortunately fairly common, especially among patients with chronic disease," according to the article below.

For people like us, the medically responsible, which is highly likely the case since you all participate in this online PCa forum, this is something that we all likely find inexcusable and difficult to understand. Not something any of us would ever do!

Of course medicine won't do anybody any good if they are supposed to take it, but, for whatever reasons, fail to do so.

There are many things in our various medical situations over which we have no control, but taking our medications as they have been prescribed is something that we have total control over, and it shouldn't be that hard to do.

But apparently it's a problem for some people. According to the article below,

"Data show about one-quarter of new prescriptions are never filled, and patients do not take their medications about 50 percent of the time."

That is a truly shocking fact if true, and certainly a cause for concern. It is also likely a substantial reason why some patients don't seem to respond to treatment. How can they if they don't take their prescribed medications?

And if the physician is unaware that the patient is doing this, a problematic and potentially dangerous situation can develop:

"Patients can be reluctant to tell you (the doctor) that they don’t take their medicines. If you don’t have a true picture of a patient’s medication-taking behavior, you may needlessly escalate his or her treatment, resulting in potential harm to the patient, unnecessary work for the practice and increased costs overall."

Take a look at the eight reasons cited in the article, to get an understanding of what goes on in some people's minds, when they neglect to follow their prescriptions.

The article also includes a link to an AMA site that addresses this problem to some degree.

Personally, and I bet I speak for all of us here, I may have a medical issue that requires attention, but it's never going to be made worse because I have decided on my own not to take a medication that my doctor has prescribed.

Yes, if I'm having unexpected problems with it, or have a question about using it, I'll call the doctor's office, talk to a nurse or somebody, or leave a message for someone to call me back about it, but I'll never stop a med on my own.

In fact, I right now take a daily Omeprazole capsule for my esophageal issues, have been doing so for years, and may have to do so indefinitely, maybe even for life. But it's just a permanent part of the picture now, and not something I can quit on my own.

But getting back to that quote above, that a quarter of prescriptions are never filled, and patients neglect to take their meds half the time?

Shocking!

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/8-reasons-patients-dont-take-their-medications

I'm sure this could be a dangerous situation for some who don't take needed meds. But...I can cite you some examples in the past where I was one of the folks whose "new prescription was never filled"...for good reason. One example was when I met with a potential cataract surgeon. After the visit I decided that this guy was not for me and I would move on to another choice. In the meantime, however (and without my knowledge) his office called in three prescriptions for eye drops -- which were never picked up In another case my PCP called in a prescription for a rash I had some years ago. When I went to the pharmacy I found the cost was $120 for a small tube. After conferring with the pharamacist I recontacted the doc's office and got a $20 script. But the original prescription remains on file and I'm sure shows up as "unfilled".

I know these examples don't make the point of the article but things like this may skew the stats to show things worse than they really are...

Jim

So far three responses with all of them making excellent points about this complex issue.

I would like to follow up on a comment made by PDL17, to the effect that many older people are so often taking a large number of meds.

This is a situation that is further complicated by the development of a kind of vicious cycle which, as a former pharmacist, I imagine PDL17 probably saw many times.

Namely, that the older a person gets, the more the health issues there are that are likely to develop, with the result that even more meds now get prescribed, for even more occurring problems. But then it's also true that the older the person gets, the greater the possibility of mental slowdown occurring, with the result that he or she eventually, and perhaps inevitably, becomes unable to keep up with scheduling and taking the ongoing increase in meds, while, as time goes by, even more meds get prescribed, etc., etc.

Which leads into what may be an important take-away here. Namely, that if any of us have an elderly relative, perhaps an aging parent, and especially if that person is living alone, have we at times perhaps inadvertently assumed that he or she continues to be able takes prescribed meds correctly, especially if no one has been there to monitor this?

For example, my own 98-year-old mother is now living in an assisted living facility nearby, so it's reassuring to know there are staff there who will see to it that she takes her meds properly. Otherwise I think I would be concerned.

So if you have an elderly relative or friend, especially one who may be living alone, perhaps it's worth at least a thought as to whether he or she is still able to take his or her meds properly?

Maybe it would be worth it to check in with him or her to verify that taking meds has not become an issue.

I had an antibiotic prescription with a computer printed label, but the instructions were truncated leaving off several important words about the timing of the last dose. Lucky I caught it, since a mistake on that could result in sepsis.