Have you ever made the decision to put off going to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription? Many people do this all the time and some never even bother to get the medicines that they have been prescribed. This is called medication nonadherence and it’s a real problem that leads to health issues and even death. If people don’t take the medicines that doctors think they need, then they’re putting themselves at risk unnecessarily.
Doctors Need to Explain Things Better
Many patients don’t pick their prescriptions up because they don’t really understand why they need them. Many doctors simply scribble on a notepad and hand patients a slip of paper without going into details. If doctors took more time to explain to patients why they need certain medications, then they would be more likely to pick them up. People are more likely to take medications when they know what the potential consequences of not taking the pills are.
Money Problems
Sadly, the state of the healthcare industry in the United States means that many people have a hard time affording medications. Many people don’t have any type of health insurance and even those who do will often have to pay high prices to pick certain medications up. This will often cause patients to avoid taking medications since they don’t have the cash to pay for them. Issues like this are hard to solve without big changes in the way that the healthcare industry works in the United States.
Misinformation
Misinformation can sometimes lead patients to want to avoid taking medications, too. There are many people who try to avoid medications because they’re worried about side effects. Often, these patients don’t realize that not taking the medications will be riskier due to the health problems they have. Regardless, misinformation about medications and patient fears often cause people to not adhere to their doctor’s orders.
Forgetting to Take Medications
Forgetting to take medications can lead to medication nonadherence as well. Many people struggle to remember to take pills that they have been prescribed. You might not remember once and then will just stop taking it or only bother to take the medicine every now and then. It’s dangerous to use medicines infrequently and patients always need to strictly adhere to the guidelines put in place by physicians.