Nearly
three in four Americans don't take their prescription medicine as directed.
Even among those with serious chronic health conditions such as diabetes, about
one in three don't.
Patients
not taking medicine as prescribed cost the U.S. healthcare system roughly $290
billion a year in extra treatment and related costs, research shows. One study
estimated those patients pay about $2,000 a year in extra out-of-pocket medical
costs.
There
can be serious consequence of note taking medication as prescribed. Patients
who don't always take medicines for high blood pressure and cholesterol
problems can suffer a heart attack or stroke, causing disability or death. Doctors
may believe a drug they prescribed for the patient didn't work and switch to
another one that has worse side effects or costs more.
There
are a variety of reasons that people don’t take their medication as prescribed.
The most common reasons are:
financial problems/lack of health insurance, complicated
or confusing medication schedule, forgetfulness, and problems with or fears of
side effects. A more basic problem is the belief the medicine isn't really
needed. This is common with symptomless conditions such as high blood pressure.
Doctors
are not clairvoyant. Let us know if you have concerns or problems There are
many ways to treat medical problems: diet, exercise, a change in prescription
medications or the use of non-prescription products.
If you are having trouble paying for your medications:
Please be careful when entering personal information on any website. This list is from the AARP website.
No comments:
Post a Comment