➢ Non-adherence to treatment regimens and medication therapy has long been recognized as a substantial roadblock to achieving improved patient health outcomes.1
➢ Non-adherence to treatment regimens and medication therapy has long been recognized as a substantial roadblock to achieving improved patient health outcomes.1
It is well documented that medication non-adherence affects Americans of all ages, regardless of gender or race and is just as likely to involve high-income, well-educated people as those at lower socioeconomic levels and patient’s health complications can accelerate.2
The Consequences of Medication Non-adherence
50% of patients do not take their medications correctly (non-adherence)
Up to 2/3 of all medication-related hospitalizations are the result of poor medication adherence
Medication non-adherences costs the US Health care system up to $290 Billion annually or 10% of the total U.S. healthcare costs
Medication non-adherence is a problem that applies to all chronic conditions; affects all demographic and socio-economic levels; diminishes the ability to treat diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, and many other diseases; and, results in suffering and even death.
Americans have inadequate knowledge about the significance of medication Adherence as a crucial element of their improved health. Today’s “call to action” for clinicians is to employ interactive technology to expand their treatment and medication ADHERENCE voice, reach and care beyond the walls of the medical office, pharmacy or other traditional practice settings.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Adherence Report findings indicate that increasing the effectiveness of Adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatment. 4 This research supports former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop’s mantra that “Drugs don’t work in patients who do not take them” and …they have made the case that patient-centered and medication Adherence be at the core of reforming America’s healthcare delivery system. Here are some shocking facts about non-adherence.
Over half of adults in the US have Diabetes or pre-Diabetes. With Diabetes a recent study shows that many have reported the percent of patients being “non-adherent” ranging up to 64% for oral medications and up to 46% for users of insulin. 5
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
“Non-adherence to medication therapy is an ongoing barrier to glaucoma treatment with more than half of patients remaining non-adherent even after significant vision loss.”
“Glaucoma is a chronic, irreversible, optic neuropathy that can lead to permanent vision loss; it is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide and affects up to 60 million people. Eye drop medications are prescribed to preserve visual function and quality of life… and regular eye drop use reduces the rate of glaucoma progression.” 6
Medication Adherence in kidney transplant patients is imperative to reduce the chances of kidney rejection; yet, up to 36.4% of patients are non-adherent to their medication therapy. 7
The increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease, the relative shortage of kidney donors and the economic and health-related costs of kidney transplant rejection make Adherence to medication therapy imperative to prevent kidney rejection—there are currently over 130,000 people awaiting kidney transplants. 8
While Americans are being treated in record numbers for a long list of chronic conditions, little is being done to support patients who are not following (non-adherence) their prescribed treatment regimens and their medication therapy—a medical failing that is costing our nation’s healthcare system an estimated 290 billion annually. This amount represents up to 10% of the total US health care costs. 3