Failure to take medicine adds billions to cost of health care

It’s known as America’s “other” drug problem.

More than $290 billion in health care costs could be avoided every year — if people would only take their medicines as prescribed by their doctors.

Instead, more than 54 percent say they either don’t get prescriptions refilled, skip doses or stop taking medicine before its finished — leading to increased hospitalizations, more side effects from chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, and increased health care costs.

The latest survey by Prescription Solutions and the National Council on Patient Information and Education found that nearly 60 percent of the people know that taking medicine as instructed will lead to better health and lower costs.

“The hidden health, financial and productivity costs of people not following their medication regimens as instructed are profound, making prescription non-adherence a national health problem,” said Jacqueline Kosecoff, chief executive officer of Prescription Solutions. “The survey clearly shows that people need and want more information, guidance and help understanding and using prescription medicines.”

Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they did not finish taking all the prescription medicine as instructed, and 31 percent said they skipped doses. Twenty-three percent said they did not refill their prescriptions as instructed.

When asked why they did not follow their doctors’ instructions, 59 percent said that they started to feel better and didn’t think it was necessary to keep taking the prescription medicine. Four in 10 said they were concerned about side effects, and 25 percent said they weren’t feeling any better, so they didn’t think it was necessary to keep taking the prescription medicine. Nearly a quarter said they stopped taking the medicine because it was too expensive.

“Poor medicine adherence appears to be as pervasive and costly in terms of health and economic consequences today as in years past,” said Ray Bullman, executive vice president of NCPIE. “These survey findings underscore the challenge of non-adherence and the need for frequent and ongoing communication between consumers and their health care providers about medicines, so that consumers recognize the value of medicines properly used and can derive the maximum benefit — and the minimum risk — from their prescription medications.”

When asked what would help them take their medications as instructed, 39 percent cited refill reminders. Twenty-five percent of respondents said they would do better at taking their prescription medicines as instructed if someone were to follow up with them or encourage them along the way. More than a third said that they would adhere better if they were provided easier-to-understand instructions about how to take their prescription medicines. Nearly half said lower costs for prescription medicines and fewer side effects would help them better take their medications as instructed.

When it comes to reading the instructions that come with their medicines, 73 percent said they read both the label and the information on the medicine insert. Women are more apt to read both the label and the printed information on the insert (82 percent) compared with men (63 percent). Only 2 percent say they don’t read any of the materials.

In addition, when they’ve experienced a prescription medicine side effect, women are far more apt to talk to their doctor or pharmacist (72 percent) versus men (57 percent), further illustrating gender differences when it comes to problem solving through information seeking.

“As our aging population grows, more people are taking multiple medications, and we have to employ a variety of pro-active and responsive strategies to help people improve their adherence,” said Joseph Addiego, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Prescription Solutions.

Insurers bail out Quitline

Seven Colorado insurance companies have stepped forward to cover costs for Colorado’s Quitline after the state’s budget challenges forced cuts to the program.

Aetna, Cigna, Colorado Access, Denver Health Medical Plan, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and Rocky Mountain Health Plans have agreed to cover costs for the Quitline services to their members.

Many insurers use the Quitline as their means to comply with legislative mandates that require insurers to offer smoking cessation programs.

But budget cuts reduced the Quitline’s capacity by more than 40 percent. Acknowledging the success of the program, the state’s insurers stepped forward to cover the costs of the program.

Colorado Quitline data indicates that about 30 percent of callers have private health insurance coverage.

Amy Gillentine covers health care for the Colorado Springs Business Journal.