When you give your patients medication, you follow it up with instructions on when to use them. This is to maximize the medication’s effectiveness to help the patient recover quickly and effectively.
Unfortunately, people can be forgetful. Sometimes, your patients may forget to take medicine at the right time, or some may forget to take them at all. This results in treatment failures, which, more often than not, are blamed on you. The consequences can also be quite severe, as treatments that are unable to do their job can even lead to death.
That said, is there anything you can do to ensure your patients’ adherence to their medications? There is, and we will share them with you below.
1. Help them shop for the best prices
One of the biggest reasons a patient may not stick to medication is because of the cost associated with it. It may be too expensive for them to follow their prescription, so you might need to discuss their situation with them.
Try to be empathetic when talking about finances, as not many people do not like to talk about it. With that in mind, guide your patients by helping them find the best prices possible. For instance, you can introduce couponing sites that offer deals and promotions for pharmacy-approved products. When they understand how they can save money on their medication, it is much likelier they will adhere to it.
2. Discuss the possible risks with non-adherence
A great way to motivate your patient to take their meds is to discuss the risk associated with not doing so. Tell them about the dangers they put themselves in when they do not stick to their dosage, and go over exactly how it will affect their health.
That said, missing one or two doses might not be that harmful, but missing too many at once will exponentially increase the risks. When they fully understand what dangers they put themselves in when missing a dose, they will be better at sticking to their medication.
3. Ensure your patients are aware of the side effects
Many patients avoid taking their meds because they dislike the side effects that come with them. Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided in many cases. Because of this, you must ensure they are well aware of the side effects of the medication you prescribe them.
This information will help them realize that the medicine is doing its job despite any side effects. This will also help them know when they need to seek help, as they would be able to identify if a certain side effect is not supposed to occur.
Conclusion
By making sure each patient is aware of the previously mentioned details, they will be much likelier to adhere to their medication. With that in mind, you must remember to keep track of their progress to ensure that they are following the treatment. This can be tough, especially if you have many patients to look out for. As such, we highly recommend using a cloud-based medication management system to keep everything in check. With such a tool, you will be much better at tracking what medications your patients are on and offering your services as a whole.
My Medication Log offers MedManage, a cloud-based medication management system to help caregivers and patients keep track of their medication logs and more. If you are looking to use a medication log app in the US to help your patients adhere to their medication, try out our medication management app today!