How common is medication nonadherence?

How common is medication non-adherence?

Medication nonadherence—when patients don't take their medications as prescribed—is unfortunately fairly common, with research showing that patients don't take their medications as prescribed about half the time. The phenomenon has added consequences for patients with chronic disease.

What is the average rate of patient nonadherence is estimated to be about?

While noncommunicable and mental illnesses are expected to exceed 65% of the global burden of disease in 2020 [1], approximately 50%–60% of patients are nonadherent to the medicine that they have been prescribed, especially those suffering from chronic diseases [4, 5].

What is the most common predictor of non adherence to treatment?

Previous reports underlined various factors associated with both types of non-adherence: demographic characteristics of patients - age, education, marital status, socioeconomic conditions and patient being unable to purchase the medications (11, 12), depression, insomnia, cognitive disorders (11), presence of ...

Can a doctor refuse to treat a non-compliant patient?

These noncompliant patients increasingly will find themselves rejected by physicians, as current legal and ethical standards generally grant physicians full autonomy in deciding which patients to treat.

What is the most common reason a patient is non compliant with medication adherence?

One of the major reasons that patients become non adherent is because they forget to take their medications. Results of a study conducted showed that 49.6% of patients mentioned forgetfulness as one of the major non-intentional reasons for non adherence.

What is the risk of nonadherence?

Nonadherence can lead to treatment failure, increased hospital readmissions related to medications, additional medical/surgical procedures, and excess healthcare costs [11, 13]. It can also result in mortality [14].

What is the greatest cause of non-adherence to a treatment plan?

Denial that a medication works—or that it's even needed at all—and a general unwillingness to adhere to prescribed treatment plans are common causes of medication non-adherence. For example, a patient may not believe they even have the condition being treated.

What is the true cost of medication non-adherence?

It is estimated that medication non-adherence leads to approximately $100 billion annually in avoidable hospitalisations in the United States alone. This figure underscores the critical need for targeted interventions to improve medication adherence, thereby reducing both direct and indirect healthcare costs.

How big of a problem is medication adherence?

Of all medication-related hospitalizations that occur in the United States, between one-third and two-thirds are the result of poor medication adherence.

What is medication nonadherence?

Medication nonadherence is when a patient does not take a prescribed medicine or follow the provider's instructions for taking the medicine. Barriers that prevent patients from taking their medications can appear at the patient, provider, or health system level.

What are the factors influencing medication non-adherence?

There are five reported factors that may lead to nonadherence practices such as socioeconomic-related factors, healthcare system-related factors, patient-related factors, disease-related factors, and therapy-related factors.

How to deal with medication noncompliance?

Can a doctor refuse to refill a prescription if you owe them money?

While doctors generally have discretion over prescribing and refilling medications, there are cases where a refusal could cross into negligence—especially if it puts your health at risk.

Can a psychiatrist drop you as a patient?

For whatever reasons—a patient's failure to follow treatment instructions or failure to pay; a psychiatrist's belief that another therapist would provide better treatment; a determination that therapy is no longer needed; a psychiatrist's retirement—it is sometimes necessary to terminate relationship with a patient.

How frequent is nonadherence?

Medication nonadherence for patients with chronic diseases is extremely common, affecting as many as 40% to 50% of patients who are prescribed medications for management of chronic conditions such as diabetes or hypertension.

How prevalent is medication non-adherence?

The prevalence of primary nonadherence to new prescriptions was 17%. Interventions to address primary nonadherence could target older patients with multiple medication use and within the first 2 weeks of the prescription issue date.

What is the average rate of patient non-adherence is estimated to be about?

Typically, adherence rates of 80% or more are needed for optimal therapeutic efficacy. However, it is estimated that adherence to chronic medications is around 50%. Adherence rates can go down as time passes after the initial prescription is written, or as barriers emerge or multiply.

What is the consequence of nonadherence?

Consequences of nonadherence include worsening condition, increased comorbid diseases, increased health care costs, and death. Nonadherence results from many causes; therefore, no easy solutions exist.

What are the social risk factors for medication nonadherence?

Low income and chronic stress are social risk factors for medication nonadherence. Accumulation of social risks is associated with increased medication nonadherence. These findings can be used for the development of risk prediction tools to identify patients who would benefit from targeted interventions.

What is unintentional nonadherence?

Intentional non-adherence refers to non-adherence that is deliberate and largely associated with patient motivation whereas unintentional non-adherence is non-adherence that is largely driven by a lack of capacity or resources to take medications [14].