Link → Impediments to Prescription Compliance
Recent studies show that only 50 percent of patients typically take their medications as prescribed, according to the Bethesda, Md.-based National Council of Patient Information and Education.
The study also showed that one-quarter (24 percent) of patients take less than recommended dosages of prescriptions, while 16 percent of adults surveyed said they had taken a medication less frequently than actually prescribed. Twenty percent of adults surveyed had not filled at least one prescription. Limited or poor prescription adherence costs $1.77 billion annually in direct and indirect health-care costs, according to the study.
