The rising cost of health care insurance along with expensive prescription medication presents a stark dilemma, especially for senior citizens. But the potential dangers of not taking medication properly can be even more costly.
Although some studies vary, it’s shown that close to 125,000 people in the U.S. die annually from mistakenly taking the wrong dosage of their medications. Not only does this pose a horrible health risk, but it creates a $100 billion increase in unnecessary trips to the emergency room, followed with repeat visits to the health care system. Alarmingly, it’s reported that at least 10% of all emergency room visits are a result of this phenomenon.
Although many reasons are to blame for people not taking their drugs properly, forgetfulness is probably the most common. Forgetting can lead to taking the same medications twice, leading to an overdose. Skipping a dose by accident might not seem too worrisome, but in many cases it can be the difference between life, death, and at the very least, a trip to the hospital. Numerous methods and systems have been conceived to help seniors keep track of their dosages. These methods can be found online or you can search for devices at your local drugstore or assisted living service that help with the organizing of pills and remind you when to take them with different alert systems.
Intentionally disregarding the importance of taking medications might not make much sense, but it’s a common occurrence. For example, some people begin to disregard taking their medication when they think they’re prematurely feeling better. Sometimes they stop altogether if they think the medication didn’t have the immediate effect they expected.
The reasons for noncompliance can be different from patient to patient, but when people willfully change their dosages, it’s not necessarily a sign of stubbornness, but because they don’t fully understand how the medications work and what the health consequences are when you don’t follow the regimen correctly or discontinue it altogether.
Assisted living marketing services are provided by 800seniors.com a leading referral system in the assisted living industry. For more information, call 1-800-768-8221 or visit assistedlivinginfo.org. Sky Palma is a freelance staff writer.