All over the world, it has been noted that patient compliance is a multifaceted and complex health care problem. nnThere is no secret that most patients with chronic conditions have a hard time adhering to medical recommendations and treatment plans. No one likes to go to the doctor, but there are occasions when we don’t have a choice because our bodies eventually need some kind of repair. But, what is the actual problem? nnThe problem is that a lot of people go to the doctor with health problems but they don’t take their medications as scheduled, skip their appointments, and/or ignore suggested lifestyle changes and health dietary recommendations.nnThere are two types of non-compliance- one is primary non-compliance and the other one is secondary non-compliance. A primary non-compliance happens when a patient fails to fill a prescription.nnAround a third of noncompliant patients fall into this category. There are several ways a secondary mismatch can occur, and these include missing a dose, stopping the medication altogether, taking the medication at the wrong time, and medication misusennAccording to the research study, approximately 50% of patients do not take their medications as prescribed and about 75% of patients are non-compliant in one way or another. n

Importance of Patient Compliance In Healthcare

nPatient compliance is defined as the extent to which the patient follows the prescribed diet or treatment, and whether the patient returns for follow-up, observation, or treatment.nnThis non-compliance behavior costs more than $100 billion to $289 billion a year to the U.S. health care system, and this figure is expected to rise more in the future.nnIf there is a mismatch between the patient’s willingness to take the health care plan and the physician’s attempt to initiate an intervention, noncompliance with the plan is likely to follow. In the end, the patient suffers. nnNevertheless, some solutions exist to help physicians adapt treatment plans to the individual patient that will provide them with the motivation to work together in their care and lead to better health, shorter hospital stays, and stronger health systems. nnLet’s look at the strategies to boost Medication Compliance!n

Strategies to Boost Medication Compliance

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  Involvement In The Process

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nMany non-compliant patients feel they don’t have the proper support system to help them keep track of their daily medication usage or feel they are not involved in their own care process.nnPatients who are not compliant usually feel that they don’t have the proper support system for tracking their daily medication usage. They also feel that they are not involved in their own process care. nnHowever, it is important to involve patients in their treatment process to get a high level of patient satisfaction. nnThe research study also shows that providers who actively involved their patients in a diagnosis or treatment plan will get positive results in terms of patient satisfaction.nnIt has also been said in the study that when patients view their physician as honorable and trustworthy, chances that they will obey the following recommendations.n

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  Compliance Reminders

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nWith the help of compliance reminders, it is easy for patients to get to know when it’s time to take their medications. This will also help patients because it has been shown to increase compliance substantially, which will lead to better results. nnAlso, 73 percent of test participants reported being satisfied with the program, while 88 percent claimed that interaction with health professionals plays a big role in their engagement.n

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  Understand Patient Behavior

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nOne of the most important things that providers should consider is the understanding of patient behaviors. Moreover, providers need to understand all the problems that patients have to face more often such as problems in filing, taking, or affording medications. nnFor this reason, create motivating environments for patients is necessary to make patients feel comfortable in speaking openly and honestly. n

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  Create Awareness About Side Effects

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nIn order to create awareness providers should talk about side effects with patients to let them know about the serious adverse drug reaction. Also, tell them how to prevent them. How treatment pan will be changed if they don’t resolve? Are they typically resolve without intervention? Providers should have answered these questions. n

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  Understand Patient’s Financial Condition 

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nIt is also important for providers to understand the patient’s financial condition. Whether they can afford the medications or not, providers should actively involve in this process to boost patient compliance.nnIf you want to make your patients compliant then it’s time to make your patient’s aware of pharma company-based assistance plans, state-based assistance plans, and pharmacies that arrange for 30-day supplies of broadly suggested medications.n

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  Decrease The Complexity

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nReducing the complexity of the drug regimen will help patients to follow through with taking medications correctly. Some ways to reduce complexity are providing combination products and prescribe medications with once-daily dosing instead of multiple doses per day etc. n

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  Use Technology 

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nPatient medication compliance may improve with the help of technology such as automatic pill dispensers, pillboxes and timers, and alarm watches. A Bluetooth pillbox can provide physicians the information they can use to detect adherence issues.n

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  Follow-Up With Patients 

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nUse medication reminders via text, email, or direct mail or during time allotted for chronic care management services. Also, schedule follow-up appointments to discuss medication compliance. You should tell your patients why they need their medication as prescribed even they are symptom-free. nnConsidering that patient non-compliance is an issue in the U.S. that costs billions of dollars each year, the number of preventable deaths has occurred already. For this reason, it is important to find out the root cause of the problem and then address it with a proper solution. Hopefully, the above strategies will help you improve patient compliance while we help you with medical billing and coding.nnLeave your billing and codding worries to Med-Miles LLC so you can focus more on what you love the most!