Medication Adherence is the most important factor determining Medical Outcomes– WHO, 2003 - World Health Organization, Adherence to long term therapies: evidence for action.
Compliance Rates for “Life Saving” prescriptions is less than 50% - World Health Organization, Adherence to long term therapies: evidence for action, 2003.
22% of US Patients take less of their medications than prescribed. - CMAG Case Management Guidelines, CMSA.org.
5-20% of patients are using more than one medication, in error, from the same class - Singh R., “How a series of errors led to recurrent hypoglycemia,” Journal Of Family Practice, June 2006:Vol.55, No.6.
32 million Americans are taking three or more medications daily - CMAG Case Management Guidelines, CMSA.org.
29% of the patients stop taking their prescription medications before supplies run out or before they have completed a course of therapy - CMAG Case Management Guidelines, CMSA.org.
Approximately 125,000 deaths occur annually in the United States because of non-adherence with cardiovascular medications. - CMAG Case Management Guidelines, CMSA.org.
Only about 50% of any given patient population continues taking their medication. Of these remaining patients, about 22% take less of their medication than is prescribed. They miss or skip doses and consequently lose the maximum potential benefits of therapy. -CMAG Case Management Guidelines, CMSA.org.
"In the U.S., non-adherence affects Americans of all ages, both genders and is just as likely to involve higher-income, well-educated people as those at lower socioeconomic levels." - "Enhancing Prescription Medicine Adherence: A National Action Plan," National Council on Patient Information and Education, August 2007.
"Medication non-adherence is a problem that applies to all chronic disease states"- "Enhancing Prescription Medicine Adherence: A National Action Plan," National Council on Patient Information and Education, August 2007.
It's important to know these facts and statistics to completely understand how serious medication adherence can be. We as health care providers can have a direct impact on these statistics and increase adherence to prescription medications by spending time with the patient, carefully explaining the importance of the medication, adverse side effects and therapeutic results. We should also work to follow-up with patients to make sure that they are taking their medications as directed, that they are refilling their medications, and to identify any barriers that might exist that keep the patient from taking their medications (i.e. cost or forgetfulness).
If you are interested in reading the full version of the World Health Organization's Adherence to long term therapies: evidence for action; it can be purchased directly from WHO by clicking here.
To download the CMAG Case Management Guidelines from the Case Management Society of America, click here.
If you would like to read Enhancing Prescription Medication Adherence: A National Action Plan by the National Council on Patient Information and Education; you can download the PDF by clicking here.
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