Nearly 50% People Don't Consume Prescribed Medicines, Posing Critical Public Health Challenge

The need for medicines and scientific care was brought to the front seat during the pandemic period. From simple antibiotics to tablets that bring down blood pressure levels, a genuine tab was kept upon one's health. However, a good proportion of people still continue to downplay the impact medicines have towards building a healthy system. This has been discussed time and again in multiple studies released by the World Health Organisation and other medical journals.

Like every concept, even these studies come along with two sides to them. Medical care and pharmaceuticals have developed to become an industry which stands on the thin line of making profit margins while providing necessary care. An example of this was the Dolo-650 controversy, which exposed that many doctors were given "gifts" and other "benefits" for prescribing the Dolo tablets to their patients. Such incidents have also contributed to building a sense of scepticism and hesitation towards medicine adherence.

Reducing Medical Costs And Morbidity Rates Through Medicine Adherence

Tracing back to a 2003 report on medical adherence released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), many experts in the field of medicine have been conveying the relevance of medical adherence.

WHO had once stated that 'if everyone who was prescribed medicines took them as intended, the impact on health would be far greater than any improvement in specific medical treatments'. Supporting this was the many findings that conveyed that medicines are a lot more effective on public health than any form of improved medical treatment.

However, among the patients with chronic illness, about half of them were found not to have taken any medicines that were prescribed to them. The poor adherence then led to an increased chance of morbidity and death.

The findings from back then also conveyed that among those who do take the medicines, about one-third never fill their first prescription, and 31 per cent stop their medicine earlier than the duration recommended by the professional. Thus, regardless of the kind of advancements that occur in the medical field, certain diseases remain uncontrolled largely due to non-adherence to the medicines that can provide a cure.

It was found that about eight per cent of the total global health expenditure could have been avoided with simple adherence to medicines. An article by the Economic Times quoted an endocrinologist from Maharashtra saying, "Medication non-adherence places a huge burden on our healthcare system. Among people with diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia, up to 31 per cent of patients never fill their first prescription. Of those who do, only 50-70 per cent take their medication regularly. Addressing non-adherence through a patient-centred approach requires the involvement of all health system stakeholders".

The article also throws light on this subject and conveys that several experts in the pharmaceutical industry have been identifying the issue and turning it around for good. A good proportion of medical non-adherence cases are related to behavioural science, where a patient's behaviour impacts their adherence to medicines. Addressing this concern, they stated the need for unique approaches by medical practitioners to support patients in building better health habits.

Combining Treatment With Adherence

Treatment of several chronic illnesses commonly comes along with the long-term use of pharmacotherapy. However, its effectiveness of it falls flat due to the adherence patterns of the patient.

Several research works have been dedicated to understanding medication-taking behaviour, which is often complex and individual in nature. It has suggested a lack of health literacy and involvement in the treatment decision–making process, prescription of complex drug regimens, communication barriers or ineffective communication about the effects of the medicines among some of the reasons for non-adherence.

The key to most of these concerns is effective communication between the practitioner and patient, which would bridge the gap of lack of information or misinformation.

Also Read: Dolo-650 Tablet Makers Bribed Doctors With Freebies Worth Rs 1,000 Crore To Prescribe Drug