Not Taking Your Meds? The Ripple Effect

Edward McDonald, PharmD Candidate 2010

Bernard J, Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University

Prepared during Consumer Health Information Corporation Clerkship
McLean, VA

Make sure you understand how to take
your medicine and why it was prescribed for you.

Taking a medicine for a chronic illness can be a difficult task for many people. Nobody likes to take medicine. Medicines cost money.  They can cause side effects.  And it’s another responsibility that is tacked onto our busy lives.  While taking a medicine can be a nuisance, it is a small price to pay for what could happen if you do not take your medicine. This article discusses why it is important to take your medicine for chronic illnesses with a focus on high blood pressure.

Common Reasons for Not Taking Medicine   

Why do people not take their medicines? Everyone is different but the most common
reasons include:

• cost
• fear of developing drug side effects
• trying to manage several medicines
• forgetting to take the medicine at the right time or forgetting a medicine was taken and then taking an extra dose
• not knowing if a medicine is helping if a person has an illness like high blood pressure that has no symptoms 
  
  

One third to one half of all people in the United States do not take their medicines correctly. This leads to poor health outcomes and high costs for many people. If people took their medicines correctly, up to 23% of nursing home admissions and 10% of hospital admissions could be avoided. People who do not take their medicine has shown to result in costs up to a whopping $290 billion each year in medical spending that could be avoided. 

What if You Have No Symptoms? 

Many people with a chronic illness do not understand why they need to continue to take medicine every day of their life.  In the early stages of many chronic illnesses, a person will not have any significant signs or symptoms.  Therefore, when a person does not feel sick, the need to take a medicine every day becomes less important compared to other events that may be happening in a person’s life.

One example of a chronic illness that affects nearly 65 million people in the United States is high blood pressure. In order to manage high blood pressure, a person may need to take several medicines every day. A person can easily skip taking their medicine when they feel fine and are not aware of the drug helping them. If a person with high blood pressure decides to stop taking their medicine, this can lead to poor blood pressure control and serious complications.

High blood pressure can lead to a severe complication such as stroke. Stroke is a devastating event and leads to high costs for care. For example, the average lifetime cost of care for a person after a stroke is $140,048. Think about this for a minute. This amount of money far exceeds the cost of picking up prescriptions each month to help manage high blood pressure. In addition, there are hidden costs. Because stroke is debilitating, it can cause an increased risk of falling. Home modifications may be needed to decrease falling risk. Examples include installing an extra hand railing along a stairwell or installing a handle in the bathroom to help get out of the shower or bath tub. Another hidden cost is more doctor office visits. This can force a person to take time off of work and lose money. 

The quality of life for the stroke victim is also affected. Stroke is a major cause of adult disability where depression is a common complication. Not being able to do certain activities as before the stroke can have a major effect on lowering a person’s quality of life. Imagine not being able to play sports or doing something as simple as making a sandwich. The caregiver of a stroke victim can also be affected. This is due to the emotional burden they have to go through. A lot of stress can be created for the caregiver.  This could lead to other medical conditions. Now the caregiver has to make appointments with a doctor to address their own medical problem. Once again this leads to additional costs. 

Avoid the Ripple Effect

Not taking medicine to manage a chronic illness is like ripples formed from dropping a stone into a pond. It can lead to serious and costly complications. Medicines work and save money only if they are taken correctly. The complications of high blood pressure can be greatly reduced just by taking your medicine. The next time you are considering stopping to take a prescription medicine, stop. Carefully discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist. You need to find out if this could lead to risking your health.

The responsibilities of taking your medicine to manage a chronic illness are small. Just think of the long-term problems of what could happen. So, take your medicine and manage your chronic illnesses to avoid the ripple effect.

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