Summary
- Work with your doctor while you’re taking medications.
- Keep a detailed record of all medications.
- Read all dosage instructions and follow them exactly.
If you take any drug on a routine basis, chances are you’ve forgotten a few pills, or fudged the dosage amount. That’s no big deal, right? Wrong. Medication compliance is vital, and disregarding orders for taking meds can have serious or even deadly consequences.
Experts with the Methodist Health Care System define medication compliance as “the extent to which a person’s use of medications coincides with medical or health advice.”
Noncompliance, on the other hand, is “a substantive deviation from the way in which the medication is prescribed,” says Dan Stryer, M.D., Acting Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. That definition applies to both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, Dr. Stryer says. For example, while missing one dose out of 30 may not be described as a “substantive deviation,” missing five or 10 would be.
Causes of noncompliance
There are many reasons people don’t follow medication orders, and the problem affects all segments of the population—although older adults may be at higher risk.
Issues influencing compliance include:
- The “health literacy” of people—the ability to read and understand drug orders
- Mental traits and behaviors
- Forgetfulness or dementia
- Cost of the drug
- Lack of info or incomplete info about meds from doctors
Even highly motivated people may have trouble following drug regimens, especially those with many prescriptions or complicated instructions.
Help with compliance
Experts offer a range of ideas for helping with medication compliance—although the best compliance aids vary depending on the person.
- Before starting a new prescription, ask your doctor about the name of the drug, any potential side effects, the condition it will treat, how it works, when and how you should take it, how long the regimen will last, if it will interact with other drugs or foods, what to do if you forget a dose, and if you can take home printed facts about the medicine.
- Tell your doctor if you are or might become pregnant, and if you have any drug allergies.
- Work with your doctor while you’re taking meds. Ask about results of tests that show how the meds are working for you, and be sure to bring up any issues you have with them. Talk about how you have felt since you started taking the drug.
- Keep a record of all meds (including over-the-counter and herbal) you take and discuss them often with your doctor and pharmacists. Drug interactions can be deadly.
- Read all dosage instructions—whether the drug is a prescription or over-the-counter—and follow them exactly, including using precise measurements. Heed warning labels. Make sure you understand the directions, and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. Post any printed instructions in an obvious place.
- Don’t use meds after the expiration date. Throw them out in a place where children or pets can’t find them.
- If cost is a worry, ask about a cheaper drug version or other lower-cost options.
- If needed, use special tools to help you remember your drug regimens, such as pillboxes, alarms, or timers.
Dr. Stryer stresses honesty and communication as the main factors in medication compliance. “People have to be honest with themselves and question whether the real problem they’re being noncompliant is that they just don’t remember, or because of some other reason,” he says. “The important thing is that patients talk to their providers and pharmacists about these issues. We should be able to figure out ways to make medication fit with their lifestyle and priorities. They shouldn’t assume they have no choices.”
Resource
BeMedWise Program at NeedyMeds
Summary
- Work with your doctor while you’re taking medications.
- Keep a detailed record of all medications.
- Read all dosage instructions and follow them exactly.
If you take any drug on a routine basis, chances are you’ve forgotten a few pills, or fudged the dosage amount. That’s no big deal, right? Wrong. Medication compliance is vital, and disregarding orders for taking meds can have serious or even deadly consequences.
Experts with the Methodist Health Care System define medication compliance as “the extent to which a person’s use of medications coincides with medical or health advice.”
Noncompliance, on the other hand, is “a substantive deviation from the way in which the medication is prescribed,” says Dan Stryer, M.D., Acting Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. That definition applies to both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, Dr. Stryer says. For example, while missing one dose out of 30 may not be described as a “substantive deviation,” missing five or 10 would be.
Causes of noncompliance
There are many reasons people don’t follow medication orders, and the problem affects all segments of the population—although older adults may be at higher risk.
Issues influencing compliance include:
- The “health literacy” of people—the ability to read and understand drug orders
- Mental traits and behaviors
- Forgetfulness or dementia
- Cost of the drug
- Lack of info or incomplete info about meds from doctors
Even highly motivated people may have trouble following drug regimens, especially those with many prescriptions or complicated instructions.
Help with compliance
Experts offer a range of ideas for helping with medication compliance—although the best compliance aids vary depending on the person.
- Before starting a new prescription, ask your doctor about the name of the drug, any potential side effects, the condition it will treat, how it works, when and how you should take it, how long the regimen will last, if it will interact with other drugs or foods, what to do if you forget a dose, and if you can take home printed facts about the medicine.
- Tell your doctor if you are or might become pregnant, and if you have any drug allergies.
- Work with your doctor while you’re taking meds. Ask about results of tests that show how the meds are working for you, and be sure to bring up any issues you have with them. Talk about how you have felt since you started taking the drug.
- Keep a record of all meds (including over-the-counter and herbal) you take and discuss them often with your doctor and pharmacists. Drug interactions can be deadly.
- Read all dosage instructions—whether the drug is a prescription or over-the-counter—and follow them exactly, including using precise measurements. Heed warning labels. Make sure you understand the directions, and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. Post any printed instructions in an obvious place.
- Don’t use meds after the expiration date. Throw them out in a place where children or pets can’t find them.
- If cost is a worry, ask about a cheaper drug version or other lower-cost options.
- If needed, use special tools to help you remember your drug regimens, such as pillboxes, alarms, or timers.
Dr. Stryer stresses honesty and communication as the main factors in medication compliance. “People have to be honest with themselves and question whether the real problem they’re being noncompliant is that they just don’t remember, or because of some other reason,” he says. “The important thing is that patients talk to their providers and pharmacists about these issues. We should be able to figure out ways to make medication fit with their lifestyle and priorities. They shouldn’t assume they have no choices.”
Resource
BeMedWise Program at NeedyMeds
Summary
- Work with your doctor while you’re taking medications.
- Keep a detailed record of all medications.
- Read all dosage instructions and follow them exactly.
If you take any drug on a routine basis, chances are you’ve forgotten a few pills, or fudged the dosage amount. That’s no big deal, right? Wrong. Medication compliance is vital, and disregarding orders for taking meds can have serious or even deadly consequences.
Experts with the Methodist Health Care System define medication compliance as “the extent to which a person’s use of medications coincides with medical or health advice.”
Noncompliance, on the other hand, is “a substantive deviation from the way in which the medication is prescribed,” says Dan Stryer, M.D., Acting Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. That definition applies to both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, Dr. Stryer says. For example, while missing one dose out of 30 may not be described as a “substantive deviation,” missing five or 10 would be.
Causes of noncompliance
There are many reasons people don’t follow medication orders, and the problem affects all segments of the population—although older adults may be at higher risk.
Issues influencing compliance include:
- The “health literacy” of people—the ability to read and understand drug orders
- Mental traits and behaviors
- Forgetfulness or dementia
- Cost of the drug
- Lack of info or incomplete info about meds from doctors
Even highly motivated people may have trouble following drug regimens, especially those with many prescriptions or complicated instructions.
Help with compliance
Experts offer a range of ideas for helping with medication compliance—although the best compliance aids vary depending on the person.
- Before starting a new prescription, ask your doctor about the name of the drug, any potential side effects, the condition it will treat, how it works, when and how you should take it, how long the regimen will last, if it will interact with other drugs or foods, what to do if you forget a dose, and if you can take home printed facts about the medicine.
- Tell your doctor if you are or might become pregnant, and if you have any drug allergies.
- Work with your doctor while you’re taking meds. Ask about results of tests that show how the meds are working for you, and be sure to bring up any issues you have with them. Talk about how you have felt since you started taking the drug.
- Keep a record of all meds (including over-the-counter and herbal) you take and discuss them often with your doctor and pharmacists. Drug interactions can be deadly.
- Read all dosage instructions—whether the drug is a prescription or over-the-counter—and follow them exactly, including using precise measurements. Heed warning labels. Make sure you understand the directions, and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. Post any printed instructions in an obvious place.
- Don’t use meds after the expiration date. Throw them out in a place where children or pets can’t find them.
- If cost is a worry, ask about a cheaper drug version or other lower-cost options.
- If needed, use special tools to help you remember your drug regimens, such as pillboxes, alarms, or timers.
Dr. Stryer stresses honesty and communication as the main factors in medication compliance. “People have to be honest with themselves and question whether the real problem they’re being noncompliant is that they just don’t remember, or because of some other reason,” he says. “The important thing is that patients talk to their providers and pharmacists about these issues. We should be able to figure out ways to make medication fit with their lifestyle and priorities. They shouldn’t assume they have no choices.”
Resource
BeMedWise Program at NeedyMeds