Access to Medications, Adherence Go Hand in Hand
If the lack of medication adherence were an easy problem to solve, then everyone would be taking their medicines as directed, there would be no need for iPhone apps or electronic pill bottle reminders, patient health outcomes would be improved, and overall health care costs would be lower because of reduced complications or hospitalizations.
If the lack of medication adherence were an easy problem to solve, then everyone would be taking their medicines as directed, there would be no need for iPhone apps or electronic pill bottle reminders, patient health outcomes would be improved, and overall health care costs would be lower because of reduced complications or hospitalizations.
Yet patients’ adherence to their medication regimens continues to be an issue, partly because human nature means that we’re forgetting to take our medicine, but also because access to those medicines and adherence go hand-in-hand. In a Chain Drug Review commentary, NPC President Dan Leonard explores the various barriers to medication access, how they affect patients’ adherence, and possible solutions to this health challenge.