Patient non-compliance with medication is a problem that can have adverse effects on patient outcomes. Non-compliance with medication can occur in the in-patient or out-patient setting. Leigh (2010) estimates as many as 50% of all prescriptions filled—between one and 1.5 billion—per year are not taken correctly (p. 1). Moreover, there are different types of non-compliance, including taking medications incorrectly, taking the wrong dose or at the wrong frequency, or not taking the medications at all. The causes of patient non-compliance with medication can be traced to miscommunication, requiring healthcare leaders to take a more active role in patient advocacy and education. Misunderstandings of how a medication should be taken, what the medication is for, and other issues related to patient education can be directly solved via direct intervention and improved communication. However, some of the causes of patient non-compliance with medication are due to structural issues including the costs of medication and the fact that many medications are not vegetarian and therefore inappropriate for many patients. Not understanding what the medication is for, how it needs to be administered, and in what dose means that patients are not receiving proper education. As Leigh (2010) points out, proper education about medications “reduces readmissions, emergency...
1). DeBrincat (2012) adds that many patients have difficulties understanding the instructions they have been given, due to factors like language and cultural barriers, memory or cognitive impairments, or simply due to lack of information. Some non-compliance issues are unintentional, as with patients who simply misunderstand the instructions. These are problems that can and should be solved by developing more robust protocols for nurses and pharmacists regarding medication education.References
De Brincat, M. (2012). Medication adherence: patient education, communication, and behaviour. Journal of the Malta College of Pharmacy Practice 18(2002).
Hoesli, T.M. & Smith, K.M (2011). Effects of religious and personal beliefs on medication regimen design. Orthopedics 34(4): 292-295.
Leigh, E. (2010). Teaching patients about their medications. The Center for Healthcare Communication. Retrieved online: http://www.communicatingwithpatients.com/articles/teaching_about_meds.html
Weiner, S. (2001). I can’t afford that! Journal of General Internal Medicine 16(6): 412-418.
To wit, power is a huge influence in any social interaction, and in a study reported by the University of California Press (West, 2008, p. 87), men often interrupt women during conversations because men are generally viewed as the power in any male-female interaction. "Physicians interrupt patients disproportionately" in doctor-patient interactions, West writes, "except when the doctor is a 'lady'; then, "patients interrupt as much or more than physicians,
These studies demonstrate that there are several factors associated with patient noncompliance, regardless of the disease being treated. Medication side effects represent only one of these issues. Nurse practitioners could help to resolve many of these issues by being proactive and asking questions about side effects in patients at risk for becoming noncompliant. They may also be able to predict noncompliance in patients that are prescribed medications with known side
Compliance Patient compliance is not always easy to obtain and it is frustrating when patients fail to follow recommendations and instructions. In addition, nurses and physicians tend to expect compliance while there is plenty of evidence derived from clinical studies that compliance should not be expected. This work intends to examine and analyze the issue of patient compliance. (Stone, et al., 1998) Lamb (nd ) reports that for products marketed
Assessing and Treating Patients with Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder, also referred to as manic depression, is an episodic or chronic mental disorder characterized by fluctuating and often extreme changes in energy, mood, and activity levels, thus affecting a person’s focus and concentration. Whereas it is normal for humans to experience shifts in energy level and mood from time to time, the shifts for bipolar patients are extreme and can be rather
AbstractMost patients, especially after being examined with complex health conditions, have difficulty comprehending or recalling the information their healthcare providers gave them regarding their health. However, the use of teach-back methodology has proven to improve this scenario since it provides guidance that could help deliver health services most effectively. Besides, with diabetes mellitus being a major pandemic in most nations, this review aims to comprehend the information about teach-back methodology
Clinical Application Paper Medication errors are a serious public health problem and they pose a serious threat to patient safety. Medication errors are costly from an economic, human, and social viewpoint since all patients are potentially vulnerable to these errors. It is estimated that in the United States more than 250,000 deaths per year are attributed to medication errors (Dirik, Samur, Seren Intepeler, & Hewison, 2019). Nurses work in a fast-paced
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