NYT: The Cost of Not Taking Your Medicine

By: Jane E. Brody, New York Times, April 17, 2017

There is an out-of-control epidemic in the United States that costs more and affects more people than any disease Americans currently worry about. It’s called nonadherence to prescribed medications, and it is — potentially, at least — 100 percent preventable by the very individuals it afflicts.

The numbers are staggering. “Studies have consistently shown that 20 percent to 30 percent of medication prescriptions are never filled, and that approximately 50 percent of medications for chronic disease are not taken as prescribed,” according to a review in Annals of Internal Medicine. People who do take prescription medications — whether it’s for a simple infection or a life-threatening condition — typically take only about half the prescribed doses...Read more >>

PatientEngagementHIT: Understanding Mental Barriers to Patient Medication Adherence

By: Joel White & Sloane Salzburg

Philip Mandel, a 60-year-old Beaverton man, is a stereotypical Oregon fitness guru. He bikes hundreds of miles a week, hits the gym regularly, and sticks to a low-fat, largely vegetarian diet.

And like hundreds of thousands of his fellow Oregonians, he has had trouble adhering to his doctor’s orders. He recently stopped taking his cholesterol medication for two weeks after experiencing some odd side effects. When his physician found out, he ordered Philip back on the drug to help prevent life-threatening conditions like heart attack and stroke...Read more>>