Medication Non-Adherence: Why Patients Do This?

Medication non-adherence simply means a patient is not able to take their prescription medication. As healthcare providers and medical professionals, we all need to get to the root of the problem.

Here are the reasons why patients do not take their medicines as instructed by their physicians:

• Fear of potential side effects

  Some patients are frightened of the side effects of their prescriptions. Most of these patients may have heard from a friend or a stranger about these side effects and decided not to take it.

  As a specialty pharmacy in Linden, New Jersey, we know if some drugs have potential side effects. It is our job to tell the patients this information. If you want to clarify if the prescription given to you has side effects, ask us.

• Expensive medications 
  A lot of patients refuse to take their medications because of the cost. But there are insurances that cover the cost of these medications in the first place. And if the price is too much, you can ask your doctor for a generic brand.
• Misunderstanding 
  Patients who are not well informed by their physicians often become non-adherent. This is common for patients who are suffering from a chronic disease. They usually do not see the point of taking medications when nothing bad is happening to them in the first place.
• Lack of symptoms 
  It is embedded in the head of some patients that medicines reduce the symptoms and discomforts they experience. When they do not experience the symptoms anymore, they stop taking their prescriptions against their doctor’s approval thinking that they are already healed.
• Depression 

  Patients who are depressed are more likely to skip on their medication. They think that whatever they do, they won’t be healed. So what then is the point of taking the prescription?

  If your patient is depressed, encourage them to ask for professional help.

• Anxiety of becoming drug dependent 
  There are patients who are thinking that if they take the drug on a regular basis, their body will become dependent on the drug. This way of thinking is dangerous especially if their body needs the drug in order to help neutralize their condition.
• Lack of convenience 
  Many patients find it inconvenient to go out of their busy schedule just to buy their prescriptions. But we can easily solve this problem through refill services. Pharmacies such as Linden Retail Specialty Pharmacy make this service possible to increase our client’s medicine adherence.

Aside from providing medical equipment in New Jersey, we make it our goal that no patient should be skipping their medications.

Because we provide pharmacy services in New Jersey, we want patients to religiously take their prescription medications. We partner ourselves with medical institutions and providers of care, medical or non-medical, to help ensure our patient’s safety. We do our part in educating our patients about medication adherence and how important it is to follow their doctor’s orders.

If you have any trouble taking or keeping enough supply of your monthly prescriptions, you can tell us so we can help you. Visit our pharmacy soon.