Boost Medication Adherence as a Dispensing Physician
Many people do not buy or take medication even after a doctor has prescribed them. It is a dire situation called medication non-adherence. There could be several reasons behind the occurrence of such events. But as a dispensing physician, you must understand all that. You can only help your patients improve their medication adherence using your medication dispensing system. So, if you are a dispensing physician or aspire to be one, read this article and find out about some of the most important details about the topic.
What Is Medication Adherence?
Medication adherence is when a person takes more than 80% of their prescribed medications correctly. It is about not only taking the correct medicines but also maintaining the frequency, time, and of course direction. As a physician, you have a crucial role in that. You should do whatever you can to ensure your patients take medications properly.
Understanding the Reasons for Medication Non-Adherence
These are some of the most common and apparent reasons for medication non-adherence.
The foremost reason is forgetfulness. Even though a patient buys all the medication correctly, he or she keeps forgetting about taking them correctly on time. Not just that, but sometimes, people forget to buy the meds after running out of stock.
Another common reason for not taking medication correctly is confusion. If a person has several chronic diseases, he must take a lot of medications daily. Because of that, the person can get confused with the medications' names and doses and fail to take the right tablets at the right time.
The cost of the medications is also an important reason behind patients not taking the prescribed pills. Many people going through financial difficulties fail to buy the medications prescribed by the automated medication dispensing system. Naturally, they do not get the chance to take the medicines even if they want.
If the patient is mentally ill, he/she might face difficulties adjusting to the medication schedule.
Sometimes when the patients experience severe side effects from the medications, they get scared and stop taking them altogether.
How You and Your Medication Dispensing System Can Help
As a doctor, you must do your best to solve the problems mentioned above. To do that, you will have to follow these tips. It will not only help your patients but will also improve you as a doctor.
Tip1: Communication
Communication is very important. You must talk with your patients and find out what keeps them from taking the right dose of medicine at the right time.
Tip2: Simpler Medication Routine
Make the schedule of the medications you prescribe simple. That way, people with many chronic diseases will not get confused while taking their meds.
Tip3: Prescribe Generic Medications if Needed
As we mentioned, several people do not buy medications because some are expensive. If that is the case for your patient, use your medication dispensing system to provide the generic and cheaper counterparts of the drugs. This way, the patient could buy the meds and cure their chronic medical conditions.
Tip4: Take the Help of Automated Medication Delivery
If your patients forget to purchase the medications after exhausting their stock, you can help them by using an automated delivery system. This way, your patients will have all their medication to take as prescribed.
Become a Better Dispensing Physician with PDRX
If you are a physician who wishes to dispense medication from their office, call PD-RX Pharmaceuticals. We are a company that helps physicians turn their in-office dispensing dream into reality. With your skills and our help, you rise above your competition and become the best dispensing physician.
**Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to be a doctor's advice, nor does it create any form of the patient-doctor relationship.