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Medication Adherence: Are You Taking Your Pills Seriously?

Everything on prescription matters from the dosage of a medicine, its frequency, and the time gap to be maintained.

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Written By: Kashish Sharma | Updated : January 9, 2023 12:34 PM IST

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Changing the dosage of medicine is a maladjustment on part of patients that can turn dangerous if the person is taking treatment for a serious illness.

There is a reason why a particular medicine has been prescribed to you by your healthcare specialist. Time of consumption, frequency, and duration of taking a pill is an important aspect of treatment. WHO explains medication adherence as the extent to which a person might follow their healthcare provider's recommendations when it comes to medicines or any other form of treatment. However, a good percentage of the population is not able to take medicines in the manner prescribed by their treating doctor. Sometimes the reasons might be intentional, other times they might be unintentional.

Medication non-adherence can result in negative outcomes for both the patient's health and can also adversely impact the healthcare system, resulting in an increased patient burden. It can also cause many chronic conditions to aggravate that could have been easily preventable.

Reasons why people might show medication non-adherence

There are many reasons why people fail to consume medicines in the prescribed manner. Sometimes the reasons could be unintentional like forgetting a dose or taking the dose at the wrong time. Other times, the cause could be shaped by many factors including personal experiences, societal and economic. Here are a few reasons why people falter at taking medicines in the correct way-

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  1. Lack of trust in the doctor and strong personal preference
  2. Fear of the side effects associated with the drug
  3. Not accepting that they might be in need of medication for a condition
  4. Stopping medications when the symptoms subside
  5. Forgetfulness or conditions that might cause memory difficulties like dementia or Alzheimer's.
  6. Self-medication
  7. Lack of consistent medical care
  8. Certain cultural and religious beliefs that might interfere
  9. Expensive treatment and other economic constraints
  10. Preference for home remedies and traditional medicine
  11. Lack of good doctor-patient bond.
  12. Broken contact with the doctor.

Dos and Don'ts of medicine consumption

Everything written on a medical prescription has a meaning. From dosage to time gap, each factor matters. Medication non-adherence can also result when we might take medicines solely on the basis of our past personal experiences. One not-so-popularly discussed query might be for how long does a prescription stands valid. Here are a few things about medicines that we must follow-

  1. If the medicines prescribed to you deal with general symptoms and are usually over-the-counter drugs, one might be referring back to old prescriptions. However, if your health condition has changed over time and the medicine prescribed to you is not for general symptoms, referring to old prescriptions can be dangerous.
  2. Not all medicines will suit all. Different people might have difficult health conditions and medicines are prescribed accordingly. They must not be generalized.
  3. Changing the dosage of medicine is a maladjustment on part of patients that can turn dangerous if the person is taking treatment for a serious illness.
  4. Medicines such as blood thinners must not be stopped at will. They might not show short-term consequences but can result in long-term medical emergencies like heart attacks and strokes.
  5. Every patient has a different medical history. Hence, it might be a bad idea to share medicines or take one that your friend's doctor might have prescribed for similar symptoms.
  6. For certain medicines like paracetamol and others, a strict time gap must be maintained to avoid toxic overdose.
  7. While stopping antibiotics in the mid-course is still a debatable discussion, it might be a good idea to follow your doctor's advice in such matters.
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Kashish Sharma

Kashish Sharma

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