Adherence and Persistency Barriers/Reasons for Noncompliance

The reasons for patient noncompliance are almost as varied as the drugs and the patients themselves, but the reasons can be categorized into three main areas: patient issues, issues in medical practices, and issues in the healthcare system.

Patient Issues

• Lack of organizational skills to either remember to take the medication (the number one reason for missed doses), to refill a prescription, or to take a medication properly (adherence), particularly if the dosing regimen is complex or if multiple medications are being taken
• Patient perception of the need for the treatment. The patient may not feel they need the treatment, or stop taking a medication if they feel better
• Patient attitudes toward medication, how careful they are about taking medications properly and on time, what the patient does if he misses a dose or if a medication does not seem to be effective, etc. all impact patient adherence
• Patient education about the disease being treated, its severity, and the perceived risk of not treating or inadequately treating the disease
• Side effects perceived as outweighing the perceived benefits of the treatment
• Low health literacy. Sometimes patients don't understand the treatment regimen and don't adhere with the treatment
• Fear of medication side effects- sometimes without even taking the medication
• Denial that they are sick or that they need treatment
• Lack of physician trust
• Pharmacy access issues.

Medical Issues

• Complex dosing regimens can cause compliance issues for patients, either due to lack of organizational skills or understanding of the directions they have been given
• Little or inadequate time available to explain the disease, the name and purpose of the drug, dosage (amount and frequency) the treatments duration, necessity, benefits, cost, or side effects, or to provide positive reinforcement if the patient is able to adhere and persist with a treatment program
• No follow up after prescribing treatment.

Healthcare System issues

• Reimbursement shortfalls
• Failure to fully address patient needs
• System is not interactive
• Cost constraints force healthcare professionals to allocate an inadequate amount of time to educate and explain the importance of patient compliance with a treatment regimen.

If you're searching for a real solution to improve your Patient Acquisition Retention Index, a PharmaPhonetics Adherence program can help you address the most common patient barriers to adherence, compliance and persistency. You'll be amazed at what we can do, cost effectively, and with a real focus on ROI. Visit our other PharmaPhonetics Adherence pages for additional program detail, download our collateral, Contact us, or telephone us at 585-248-9289.

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