LAKE MARY, Fla. – (Feb. 5, 2013) – Poor health literacy and low medication adherence are significant contributing factors to the 177,000 deaths each year from medication misuse and errors. Indeed, as many as half of all patients fail to follow proper use instructions and 60% are unable to identify their prescribed medications.
An elderly woman sent home from the hospital develops a life-threatening infection because she doesn’t understand the warning signs listed in the discharge instructions. A man flummoxed by an intake form in a doctor’s office reflexively writes “no” to every question because he doesn’t understand what is being asked. A young mother pours a drug that is supposed to be taken by mouth into her baby’s ear, perforating the eardrum. And a man in his 70s preparing for his first colonoscopy uses a suppository as directed, but without first removing it from the foil packet.
Wall Street Journal Link: http://on.wsj.com/WqnPeM
People accustomed to nagging from doctors and family members that they’re not taking their medications properly may get some help from an unlikely source. New designs for drug packages and plans for labels that are easier to understand aim to help people stick to their drug regimens.