When starting a treatment, it is vital that you follow the instructions of the health professional, without forgetting a dose or confusing the prescribed pills. If we do not do so, we would be interrupting what we know as therapeutic adherence, that is, the correct follow-up of the medical plan.
Therefore, we recommend that you always use a simple, safe organization system that allows you to keep your medication organized.
In 2003, the WHO established the following criteria to measure a patient's degree of adherence:
- Taking the medication
- Following a diet
- Modification of lifestyle habits
However, recent studies suggest that we should also take other points into account. In this post we explain the weight of adherence during treatment, and what you should take into account.
What will you find in this article?- Why is it so important to ensure therapeutic adherence?
- What is persistence?
- What can happen if I do not follow medical treatment correctly?
- 5 key aspects to reinforce adherence:
- How to achieve therapeutic adherence in the patient?
Why is it so important to ensure therapeutic adherence?
First of all, we must understand why it is so important to follow medication correctly. According to Pfizer, adherence to treatment has been positioned as apublic health problem worldwide.
He 50% of patients with chronic diseases do not show adherence.
Only 50% of treatments for chronic diseases have therapeutic adherence, a number that decreases significantly in underdeveloped countries.
Therapeutic adherence has repercussions at different social, economic, and also health levels. Therefore, whether for ourselves or for a family member, it is important to keep the following concepts in mind:
- Take the correct dose. Even if we take medication, it should always be in the appropriate quantities.
- Distribution regime. Respect the assigned times to promote their effectiveness.
- Persistence. Don't leave the medical plan early.
- Take the correct dose. Even if we take medication, it should always be in the appropriate quantities.
What is persistence?
Seeing results as soon as you start treatment can be difficult. Often, we start a long-term medical plan with high expectations, but after some time passes and we do not feel noticeable improvements, we distrust its effectiveness and do not finish it.
Only one in three patients take the medication correctly.
Persistence measures the time we decide to dedicate to treatment, from the day it starts until we complete it. If this period coincides with the duration that the doctor has prescribed, we will be doing good monitoring.
Although it is a basic aspect, few patients respect therapeutic persistence.
According to Haynes and Checket, renowned epidemiologists and pioneer of evidence-based medicine, only 1 in 3 patients take the medication correctly. Another third does so occasionally and incompletely, and the rest decide not to start the process.
What can happen if I do not follow medical treatment correctly?
This is one of the questions that patients ask themselves most frequently. They are usually based on distrust of the treatment, or not knowing in detail the disease they may be suffering from.
Of course, we always recommend consulting these questions with your doctor and prescriber, as well as requesting a second professional opinion if necessary.In any case, there are a series of variables that can be affected by not engaging in treatment effectively. These can be:
- Treatment resistance. As can occur in the case of antibiotics, their inappropriate use can lead to less effectiveness in future treatments.
- Higher cost for the patient, or public health: re-performing medical tests, drawing conclusions and restarting treatment can not only entail a financial expense, but also time and quality of life.
- Worsening or progression of the disease.
- Surgical interventions and/or hospitalizationin serious cases.
Ultimately, lack of therapeutic adherence can lead to a worsening of the disease. To avoid this, we recommend that you take note of the points presented below:
5 key aspects to reinforce adherence:
There are a series of factors that will make the difference between good and poor therapeutic adherence.
- The disease: Prevention is always the best cure. If you suspect symptoms or family history, it is advisable to see a doctor periodically. It is also important to monitor those pathologies specific to age, sex or related to risk groups.
- The patient: As patients, we must feel satisfied with the assigned medical treatment. Understand what is happening to us and why we should act in a certain way.
- The drug: It should be taken according to the schedule, be affordable and always follow the prescriber's instructions.
- The environment: It must make it easier for the patient to access their medication.
- The doctor or prescriber: It is important to have the confidence to ask and resolve doubts with our doctor. This way it will be easier to know our situation or that of our family member.
Taking note of these points and reviewing them one by one will not only help us with therapeutic adherence, but can also prevent a serious illness.
How to achieve therapeutic adherence in the patient?
Once we know which aspects to reinforce, we can find different methodologies to achieve it.
Medication preparation services:It will always be much safer for a pharmacist to organize our medication by dose, and thus avoid confusion.
At IMA we offer this medication preparation service, and we also deliver it to your home.
Disclaimer: At IMA we offer advice and information about our products. Consult with an expert before making any decision that may affect your health.