Download Failing to fill prescriptions could lead to serous

Failing to fill prescriptions could lead to serious health conditions
When a physician prescribes a medication, he or she assumes that the patient will have
the prescription filled and then refill it when they run out. But a recent study in the
Journal of General Internal Medicine found that many people whose doctors start them
on medications for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure may never fill those
prescriptions.
A Reuters story notes: “Researchers found that among more than 75,000
Massachusetts patients given drug prescriptions over one year, 22 percent of the
prescriptions were never filled. The rate was even higher -- 28 percent -- when the
researchers looked only at first-time prescriptions. Such „non-adherence,‟ the study
found, was common even among patients prescribed drugs for chronic conditions that can
have serious health consequences.”
In particular, the study notes that between 28 percent and 31 percent of new
prescriptions for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, for example, went
unfilled. Exactly why many patients did not fill their prescriptions is unclear. One
possibility is that, when health problems cause few or no symptoms -- as with high blood
pressure or high cholesterol -- people may not see the need for a medication.
Patients were least likely to pick up prescriptions for pain drugs, with only 45
percent of new prescriptions being filled. Between one- quarter and one-third of new
prescriptions for conditions like depression, asthma and gastrointestinal ills also went
unfilled.
Study researchers suggested that in cases where people have left their
prescriptions unfilled, some were "afraid" to tell their doctors. The consensus was that
patients should discuss medications with their physician so they understand why they
have been given a prescription.
One of the advantages of having a home aide is that they can interact with
physicians or nurses to determine why a patient was prescribed a medication, and then
explain it to the patient. They also will monitor prescription adherence and re-order more
when needed, and even go to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription.