[Stitcher]

This article says that complying with your physician's instructions is a "win-win for everyone in the patient care equation." Your thoughts?


Solving Patient Compliance: Pharma's Multidimensional Challenge

05 Sep 2007

Patient non-compliance with doctor prescribed medication regimens is a significant challenge for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical makers. Experts estimate that patient non-adherence costs the pharmaceutical industry in excess of $30 billion a year - not to mention, the chance at a fuller, healthier life for countless patients.

But the opportunity is even greater. Clinical researchers report that for most prescription drugs, patient compliance rates are 50-60%. With some disease states, however, compliance drops as low as 10-20%. So, even modest improvements in adherence and persistence can have significant, positive impacts on not only revenues for drug makers, but expenses for third party payers and outcomes for patients.

Improving compliance is a win-win for everyone in the patient care equation.

Read full article

[reverett123]

But then that's just me....

Seriously, though, the idea that a standard regimen is optimum for all PWPs is ridiculous. We vary not only from each other but individually as well. Different times of day, stages of disease, stress levels, and on and on. Consider too the way a drug with a Tmax of one and a half hours is combined with one of two and a half hours. No, I think their instructions are for their benefit rather than mine. PD requires a lot of tinkering to minimize meds and max out function.

[aftermathman]

(see my post to Olsen re. Duodopa) my Neuro's other two take home messages were:

i) Take drugs a little and often, avoid peaks and troughs.
ii) In the UK drug "compliance" is not good.

Neil.