It is estimated that only 50% of patients with chronic conditions
follow medication directions over time. (1-5)
Nonadherence, noncompliance, and lack of persistence are labels
that have been used to describe this issue. No matter what the
label is or the reason, the fact remains that many patients are not
taking their medication as prescribed. The total cost of
non-adherence has been estimated at $300 billion. (8)
“NEHI estimates that nonadherence along with suboptimal
prescribing, drug administration, and diagnosis could result in
as much as $290 billion per year in avoidable medical spending
or 13 percent of total health care expenditures.” (14)
In one study, the impact of medication nonadherence was
assessed in 4 chronic diseases in a historical cohort of 137,277
patients. For all 4 conditions examined, the more patients took
the medicine as directed, the lower their risk of hospitalization. (6)
In a Retrospective Observational Study of Health Care
Utilization and Use of Medicines for Asthma:
*Leukotriene inhibitor usage in asthma patients E.R and hospital admissions per 1000 patient-years (7)
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