By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    December 22, 2021
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    April 6, 2022
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    August 30, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond the Clinic: Medical Surveys Are a Roadmap to Passive Income for Doctors
    September 23, 2023
    5 Self-Care Habits to Help You Live an A+ Life
    September 21, 2023
    Keep Employees Safe & Healthy By Reducing Warehouse Injuries
    September 20, 2023
    What is Pneumonia? Causes, Treatment, and Care
    September 19, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    health plans
    Do Health Plans Have a Future?
    February 3, 2015
    Healthcare Is Improving With These New Powerful Blood Tests
    February 19, 2018
    Aging Gracefully, Part 3: The Importance of Comprehensive Primary Care
    March 23, 2015
    Latest News
    Job Seekers with Disabilities Should at Health Insurance Benefits
    September 12, 2023
    Reasons That Drug Prices Are Rising to Unsustainable Levels
    September 12, 2023
    How Revenue Lifecycle Management Helps Healthcare Providers to Optimize Business Operations
    September 6, 2023
    The Hidden Benefits of Practice Exams for Medical Professionals
    September 6, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Blister Pack Adoption Increases Medication Adherence, Save Lives
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Wellness > Blister Pack Adoption Increases Medication Adherence, Save Lives
Wellness

Blister Pack Adoption Increases Medication Adherence, Save Lives

Khellendos
Last updated: 2015/06/25 at 8:00 AM
Khellendos
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

The United States health care system proves that cost doesn’t always equate to quality. The U.S. health care industry is the most expensive in the world, but it underperforms on most dimensions in comparison to other advanced countries. Decreasing the drastic amounts of overspending is one important step to put the U.S.

The United States health care system proves that cost doesn’t always equate to quality. The U.S. health care industry is the most expensive in the world, but it underperforms on most dimensions in comparison to other advanced countries. Decreasing the drastic amounts of overspending is one important step to put the U.S. health care industry on better footing, and perhaps the simplest way to slim down the $3.8 trillion spent on health care is by addressing patients’ poor prescription drug adherence.

Encouraging people to create positive medication adherence habits is important for the patient and for society itself, because failing to do so is dangerous and costly. And these expensive choices add up fast.

In 2014, pharmaceuticals spending in the United States rose to nearly $374 billion, and responsible medication usage can eliminate $105 billion annually in avoidable health care costs. When people— especially chronically ill patients—fail to take their medicine properly they create unnecessary strain on the health care system. Poor medication compliance leads to an estimated 10 to 25 percent of nursing home and hospital admissions, 30 to 50 percent of treatment failures, and an annual 125,000 preventable deaths.

More Read

foodborne illnesses

Fall Food Safety Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illnesses

3 Beneficial Ways Technology Impacting Your Wellness and Health
How Nurses Can make a Difference in Healthcare Policy
What Are Your Weight Loss Options While Living in Latvia?
Evaluating the Impact of Oticon Hearing Aids on Overall Wellness

However, studies show that we can curb this medication misuse by repackaging prescription drugs into blister packs and other unit-of-use methods.

It’s easy to understand that swallowing a few pills each day is a lot less expensive, less painful and less time consuming than extra doctor visits, surgeries and hospital bills. But it’s also easy to not do what we know is the best course of action. That’s why chronic use of self-administered medication has an average non-adherence rate of 50 percent. And the leading causes of that non-adherence are not surprising to anybody who has tried to maintain a treatment schedule. The biggest reason is forgetfulness, which can lead to missed medications, under-dosage, over-dosage and erratic dosage. Otherwise, patients might not understand the illness, or they may play with their dosage or medications to “test out” the efficacy of certain medications. This often includes cutting back or eliminating doses without letting their doctors know.

But those adherence numbers can improve up to nearly 97 percent adherence in some situations when the person’s medications were packaged in blister packs, which designate which pills to take and when to take them. They’re often interactive and include calendars to make it easier for patients to know how much medicine is left, if they’ve taken the drug that day which avoids over-dosing.

This is most prevalent in the elderly, children and adolescents and can have disastrous health and economic effects that last a lifetime. About two-thirds of kids with chronic illnesses are on prescribed medications, half of which fail to properly maintain their treatment, according to a study published in September 2013 in the journal Pediatrics.

If something relatively simple, like giving patients medications in different packaging, can change how efficient people are when adhering to their treatment regiment, it’s an industry responsibility to do this. A new presentation and packaging method will save money, lives and resources. How can we not pursue this change?

 Image via Shutterstock 

TAGGED: Healthcare, medicine, patient adherence, pharmaceuticals

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Khellendos June 25, 2015
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Clinical-Trial-Marketing-Wearable-Technology-Healthcare Are Wearables the Future of Clinical Trials?
Next Article Is Gastric Bypass the Right Choice?

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

Anxiety Disorder
The Importance of Nutrition in Anxiety Disorder Treatment
Anxiety September 24, 2023
spinal health
How to Advocate For Your Spinal Health In A Healthcare Setting: Strategies From Dr. Brandon Claflin
News September 24, 2023
Medical Surveys
Beyond the Clinic: Medical Surveys Are a Roadmap to Passive Income for Doctors
Health September 23, 2023
tips for neurodivergent people being pulled over
Tips for People with Neurodivergent Disorders Being Pulled Over
News September 21, 2023

You Might also Like

abdominal pain
Women Health

The Impact of Abdominal Pain on Female Health

September 20, 2023
Health

5 Self-Care Habits to Help You Live an A+ Life

September 20, 2023
What is Pneumonia? Causes, Treatment, and Care
Health

What is Pneumonia? Causes, Treatment, and Care

September 19, 2023
How Chiropractic Treatment Can Help Relieve Chronic Back Pain Without Medication
Health

How Chiropractic Treatment Can Help Relieve Chronic Back Pain Without Medication

September 12, 2023
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US
© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?