Adherence: Key Information on Managing and Treating Disease

Successful management and treatment of disease requires consistent use of prescribed medicines. Unfortunately, according to recent research, as many as 75 percent of patients (and 50 percent of chronically ill patients) fail to adhere to – or comply with – physician prescribed treatment regimens.

 

The negative effects of this non-adherence can be significant for patients. For example, more than one-third of medication-related hospitalizations are related to patients not taking their medicines as directed.

 

It also has implications for the healthcare system as a whole. Under-treatment of chronic diseases due to lack of adherence to prescribed medicines costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

 

Encouraging patients to adhere to their treatment regimens presents an opportunity to improve outcomes and lower costs associated with other healthcare services. For example, diabetes can be reasonably well controlled by medication, helping to avoid long-term, debilitating complications such as hospitalization, heart disease and even amputation.

 

Those complications aren’t just quality of life issues for patients – they are also a financial drain on our healthcare system. Fortunately, adherence can help avoid those costs. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that extending Medicare Part D coverage to beneficiaries who previously had lacked comprehensive prescription drug coverage saved Medicare an average of more than $1,200 per patient, per year on nondrug health expenses, such as hospitalizations.

 

That’s why we’ve made a point of getting involved with programs that help patients better adhere to their medicines, such as the National Consumers League’s Script Your Future campaign and a similar program sponsored by the American College of Preventive Medicine.

 

We recognize that many outside factors may affect a patient’s adherence to medicine. Fortunately, there are ways that patients can improve their adherence, from receiving medicines through patient assistance programs to simple reminder tools so patients don’t overlook their treatment schedule.