How smart/healthy are we when…

  • Medication prescriptions are never filled: 20% to 30% of the time.
  • Medication administration is not continued as prescribed in about 50% of cases.
  • Rates of medication adherence drop after first six months.
  • Only 51% of Americans treated for hypertension are adherent to their long-term therapy.
  • About 25% to 50% of patients discontinue statins within one year of treatment initiation
  • The World Health Organization estimates that by 2020, the number of Americans affected by at least one chronic condition requiring medication therapy will grow to 157 million. 

 

Sources: http://scriptyourfuture.org/wp-content/themes/cons/m/release.pdf ; Osterberg 2005, NEJM; Ho 2009, Circulation Medication Adherence in United States; Choudhry 2011, N Engl J Med; Yeaw 2009, J Manag Care Pharm; Script Your Future

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