7 Quick Tips To 'Take Your Medications As Directed'

James Pham, PharmD Candidate 2009
Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University
Prepared during Consumer Health Information Corporation Clerkship
McLean, VA

Have you ever found it difficult to take a prescription medicine the way it has been prescribed?

Have you ever stopped a prescription medicine without telling your doctor?

If your answer is “Yes” to either of these two questions, you are not alone. Many people forget to take some of their doses. Others do not administer the medicine correctly and the medicine cannot work as effectively. Some people just decide on their own to stop taking a drug and do not even tell their doctors.

For example:

• Patients  with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure often take only 50% of prescribed doses. This can lead to serious problems because the person is not taking enough medication to lower their blood pressure.
• Half of people discontinue blood pressure lowering therapy within the first year of treatment.
• About 85% of patients stop taking their medicines to lower cholesterol  after only six months of treatment.

What happens if you stop a medicine without telling your doctor?

Not taking the right amount of the prescribed medicine at the right time can be both very costly as well as very risky.

• In the U.S., patient noncompliance costs over $100 billion a year.
• 36% of kidney transplant losses are due to patients not taking their medications correctly. This is the leading cause of kidney transplant rejections, at a cost of $100 million a year.
• Noncompliance can also lead to drug withdrawal syndromes. For example, high blood pressure can return after missing just one dose of atenolol. Once a patient stops taking a drug, the drug dose needs to be adjusted again to prevent excessive drug effects (e.g., dizziness with ACE inhibitors or alpha-blockers). If the patient resumes the drug at the previous dose, excessive side effects may lead to noncompliance again.
• Once a patient stops taking a drug, the drug dose needs to be adjusted before that patient can start on that medication again to prevent excessive drug effects . If the patient resumes the drug at the previous dose, the patient may experience excessive side effects (e.g., dizziness with ACE inhibitors or alpha-blockers), which may again lead to noncompliance.

Easy tips to take your medicines correctly.

Here are some easy tips you can take to manage your medicines safely:

Compliance Tip 1

Be sure to know all the information about your medication before you take it. 

Some 106,000 Americans die every year as a result of unexpected complications due to adverse drug reactions from their medications. To reduce your risk of experiencing an adverse drug effect and to help improve your compliance, make sure to know all the information about the medications you are taking and how to recognize the signs of potential side effects.

Compliance Tip 2

How’s my handwriting?

Nine out of every ten medication errors, including those that do not result in death, involve patients' getting the wrong drug or an incorrect dose of the right drug as opposed to resulting from dangerous interactions between two drugs. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that your prescription is written legibly. If you cannot read the script, chances are good that your pharmacist will not be able to read it either. Ask the doctor to print out the drug name and dose before the pharmacist fills the prescription.

Compliance Tip 3

Visit the copy machine before the pharmacy.

Make a photocopy of your doctor’s written prescription. Then, take both the copy and the written prescription to the pharmacy. Although the pharmacist will keep the original prescription, you can compare the information on the copy with the information on the pill bottle label to make sure you have received the correct drug and dose. When you get home, file the copy of your prescription with your other medical records. You should take these with you whenever you visit your doctor.

Compliance Tip 4

Develop a schedule to take your medicines on time. 

Make your medication schedule a part of your daily routine. For example, you will be more likely to take your medication on time if you schedule to take your medicine at the same time as you do other daily activities (e.g., brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, going to bed).

Compliance Tip 5

Make sure you always have your medication on hand at all times.

Take your medications with you when you travel. If you are traveling for an extended period of time, you may want to take a copy of your prescription with you (see Compliance Tip 3) in case you need to refill your medication during the trip. You may also want to take a copy of your prescription with you if you are traveling to another country. It is important to make sure you refill your prescription on time even if you are traveling so that you do not run out of medication.

Compliance Tip 6

Remind yourself with notes, checklists, diaries and other self reminders. 

Leave yourself notes to remind you to take your medicine. Put them in places such as on the bathroom mirror where you will be sure to see them. Make a daily checklist of the pills you have to take and the times you should take them, and then check off each dose after you take it. This will help you to avoid missing or doubling up on a dose. Recording missed doses will also help you identify those times when you most often forget to take your medicine. Then you can Whatever you do, figure out what works best to remind you to take your medicine and stick with it.

Compliance Tip 7

Have a supportive network.

Friends and family can help motivate and remind you to take your medication as scheduled. They can also be a good source of emotional support for you. Health care providers are also there to help you. If you have any questions or concerns about a medication, talk right away with your doctor or pharmacist.

Not taking your medication as directed can be costly both financially as well as in terms of your overall well-being. Therefore, it is important that you take your medication as directed and on schedule. Doing so will increase the drug's efficacy in treating your medical condition and help to prevent medical errors. These 7 Compliance Tips can help you better manage your medications.

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