Medication Research vs. Medication Adherence Research: It’s Time to Focus on Both and Empower Caregivers
In the healthcare research community, the attention is often on developing new and experimental medications to treat various health conditions. The pharmaceutical industry invests billions of dollars each year to research and develop new drugs, with the goal of finding more effective treatments for conditions ranging from cancer to heart disease. While this research is essential for advancing medical treatments and improving patient outcomes, it is only part of the puzzle when it comes to ensuring that patients receive the full benefits of their medications.
One area that is often overlooked in healthcare research is medication adherence, or the extent to which patients take their medications as prescribed. Medication adherence is a critical factor in determining the effectiveness of medical treatments and improving a person’s health. However, despite its importance, medication adherence research receives much less funding and attention than medication research itself. This is a significant problem, as medication non-adherence can have serious consequences for both patients and the healthcare system as a whole.
The need for improved medication adherence cannot be stressed enough. Adherence is essential for ensuring that patients receive the full benefits of their medications. When patients take their medications as prescribed, they are more likely to experience positive health results, including improved symptom management, reduced hospitalizations, and improved overall health. Conversely, medication non-adherence can lead to poor health, increased healthcare costs, and possibly death. There are many factors that can impact medication adherence, including forgetfulness, lack of understanding about the importance of taking medications as prescribed, and side effects. For many individuals, the demands of caregiving and managing multiple medications can also be overwhelming, leading to missed doses or incorrect use of medications. This is particularly true for the elderly, who often take multiple medications to manage multiple health conditions.
The benefits of medication adherence research is critical for improving health results and reducing the burden of caregiving. By understanding the factors that impact medication adherence, researchers can develop interventions and strategies to improve medication use and ensure that patients receive the full benefits of their medications. This can include developing educational programs to help individuals and caregivers understand the importance of taking medications as prescribed, developing virtual reminders and tracking systems to help patients remember to take their medications, and increasing the use of technology, such as the Apothewell pill case management app, to improve adherence.
In addition to improving healthy outcomes, medication adherence research can also have a significant impact on healthcare costs. By reducing medication non-adherence, healthcare providers can reduce the need for hospitalization, reduce the number of emergency room visits, and improve patient satisfaction. This can result in significant savings for the healthcare system and provide people with better care.
Despite the importance of adherence research, there are several challenges that make it difficult to study. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of funding and resources. Medication adherence research is frequently overlooked, in contrast to medication research, which receives significant funding and attention. This is partly due to the difficulty in measuring adherence and the lack of understanding about its impact on individual health and well-being.
Another challenge is the overall complex study of medication adherence. Medication adherence can be impacted by a variety of factors, including patient behavior, healthcare provider practices, and the healthcare system itself. This complexity makes it difficult to develop accurate measures of adherence and to understand the impact of interventions.
Medication adherence research can discover the reasons why patients may not take their medications as directed and to develop strategies to encourage patients to do so. To guarantee that people receive the best possible care and are able to effectively manage their health, both areas of research [medication development and adherence] are essential. Medication adherence research has made some strides in understanding why patients may not take their medications as prescribed. For example, a complicated medication regimen is one of the primary causes of non-adherence. It can be challenging for patients with multiple health conditions to keep track of all of their medications because they may need to take multiple medications at various times throughout the day. Still, more research is needed to understand non adherence.
Overall, it really comes down to empowering caregivers. The healthcare community can make a difference for caregivers to better care for their loved ones by balancing the research efforts on medication adherence and medication development.
