It’s a well-known fact –medication adherence is a serious public health challenge. The World Health Organization states that “increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments.”
But that’s not all. According to The Annals of Internal Medicine, nearly 125,000 deaths and 10% of hospitalizations are caused by medication nonadherence. So how do providers even begin to address this issue when the challenge seems so daunting?
It starts with understanding the problem—a key to this is grasping the subtle distinctions between medication adherence and medication compliance. Our guide also pulls back the curtain on the causes behind nonadherence and noncompliance, revealing a few surprising drivers that aren’t obvious (like polypharmacy). Most importantly, we offer you a well-stocked toolbox of techniques to help your patients, including a list of questions to ask them now and 7 best-practice protocols that are easy to put in place.
You can bring about positive change for your patients—with education comes empowerment.
Ready to take action? We did the research for you. Our guide translates the facts into actionable insights essential to improving medication adherence and compliance. Inside you’ll find answers to your questions, including:
- What is the definition of medication adherence, and how is it sometimes misunderstood?
- What are the subtle—yet important—differences between medication adherence and medication compliance?
- Why is this issue such a risk to patients and providers alike?
- Who is most likely to struggle with nonadherence and noncompliance?
- What are the underlying causes of the problem?
- How can you have better communication and collaboration with patients to encourage positive action?
- What are the hidden costs of this issue, both human and monetary?
- What tools are out there to help, and how can you equip patients with the best options for them?
