www.ceotodaymagazine.com 20 www.ceotodaymagazine.com if patients cannot afford them, they choose other life necessities, such as putting food on the table, rather than paying for their medications. Hence, money is a factor. Equally, patients frequently dislike the side effects of the drugs. As such, they choose not to take them and often do not believe they should be taking the prescriptions. They don’t feel the meds will work for them, or someone has told them not to take them, or there may be cultural reasons why they believe the medication is harmful to them, so they don’t take it. There are also other inadvertent reasons why individuals may not take their prescriptions. Occasionally they forget. Being You stated that there are numerous reasons why individuals do not take their prescription drugs. What are some of the underlying reasons for this? Thus, I suppose I would say that they fall into two categories: people who intentionally do not take their drugs and those who do so unintentionally. As a result, it is becoming increasingly common for patients not to be treated for their diseases. Medicines are expensive; humans, we all forget from time to time. Sometimes it’s because patients don’t realize that they were expected to take that tablet every day or that they were required to continue taking it after the bottle ran out and they were given a replacement. And there are other inadvertent causes. Suppose their medication regimen is complex, and they are required to take tablets numerous times per day and in various combinations. In that case, they may forget to take them, occasionally owing to additional ailments they may have which compound this. Possibly, they are suffering from dementia. Due to their confusion, people may forget or be unaware that they are meant to take their meds. Or perhaps they have visual impairments. They may not be able to see how much insulin they are drawing into their syringe to administer it appropriately. Or maybe they have arthritis in their hands, which prevents them from opening their bottles. Perhaps they are unable to divide the pills; thus, there are generally multiple explanations and not just one. Usually, a combination of factors culminates in a patient’s refusal to adhere to their prescription schedule. Dr. Mihai Manolache President & CEO of CEBIS International About Mihai Manolache I’ve worked in the healthcare system for seventeen years, and I was genuinely surprised by just how common a problem it is for patients not to take their medication as prescribed. For many years, I assumed that patients were taking their medicine and would wonder why some patients didn’t improve with their treatments until I realized that half of the patients on chronic medications were not taking them as prescribed. Clearly, not adhering to a prescribed regimen poses a serious concern. There are numerous causes for this, but the repercussions on patients’ health are phenomenal, as they are more likely to develop diseaserelated difficulties and disabilities or even die. In addition to being detrimental to patients, it is also harmful to society. Hundreds of billions of dollars are lost annually on hospitalizations or support for disabled persons who have contracted diseases due to noncompliance with their medication.
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