Out of the 3.8 billion prescriptions written every year, one in five is never filled and about half of those that are filled are taken incorrectly, according to the CDC.
Not taking your medication (called being non-adherent) could make your disease or condition worse, cause you to be hospitalized or even lead to death. Find out other ways missing your prescription could affect you, plus simple steps to help you stay on track.
What is medication adherence?
Medication adherence is when you take your medications the correct amount at the correct time each day, as recommended by your doctor or pharmacist. Non-adherence means they may not be taken at the right time, at the correct dose, at the right number of doses each day or for the correct duration of time.
The costs of non-adherence
Non-adherence leads to poor outcomes, such as making a disease or condition worse.
Non-adherence is also very expensive. It increases the likelihood that you’ll need to see your doctor again or go to the hospital, which is almost always more expensive than filling the prescription in the first place. Over time, this leads to the medical aid providers increasing copayment and deductibles, which means you’ll likely pay more money out of your own pocket. While filling the entire prescription and taking it exactly as prescribed costs more money upfront, not taking your medicine as prescribed may end up costing you more in the long run.
Why medication non-adherence occurs
It’s not uncommon to simply forget to take your prescription or to pick up a refill. You may have a hard time understanding when you should take the medication, especially when you are taking multiple medicines at different times of the day. You may have a difficult time paying for the medication; not understand how and when it is supposed to work; or how long your doctor would like you to take the medication.
Some people may also stop taking a prescription if they begin to feel better, if they feel like it’s not working or if they are experiencing side effects. Additional factors for non-adherence may include not being able to read and understand prescription labels or having cultural barriers that make it challenging to communicate with your healthcare team.
How Clicks can help with medication adherence
This can all be overwhelming, but Clicks is here to help. We are committed to making prescription refills more convenient to support medication adherence.
Repeat Prescription Service
Sign up for our Repeat Prescription Service and receive a monthly SMS reminder when your chronic medication is ready for collection. Your medication is pre-packed, saving you time. Plus, we will send you a reminder SMS when you need to renew your prescription.
Clicks Direct Medicine
With Clicks Direct Medicine, Your chronic medication is delivered to your door or nearest Clicks pharmacy free of charge. Getting your chronic medication has never been this convenient.
Submit your script via the Clicks app
Check your script history, order repeats, submit scripts and receive a notification when your pre-packed medication is ready for collection. Simply snap and send a photo of your script, select your Clicks Pharmacy and choose your payment method.
Download the Clicks app on Google play or via the Apple store.
Our pharmacists are always available to answer your questions about your prescriptions, in our stores. Your pharmacist is a crucial part of your healthcare team and is ready to help you with all of your medication needs. Click here to access all of our Healthcare Services.
Also read: The importance of sticking to your heart medication treatment plan