Many Prescriptions Go Unfilled
Fortune Magazine recently included comments from Jeff Kindler, CEO of Pfizer, the major pharmaceutical company, that approximately half of written prescriptions go unfilled. Other reports have indicated that the reason is inability to pay by seniors, difficulty finding or travelling to pharmacies (and the cost of gas doesn't help), forgetfulness and problems at the pharmacy, including language difficulties.
Such problems cause significant difficulties for patients. The obvious problem is the loss of the curative properties of prescribed drugs. Less apparent is the effect these unfilled prescriptions have on the efficacy of drugs--that is, when the patients return to their physician for follow-up care--and the previously diagnosed condition has not been alleviated or affected, embarrassed patients often do not advise the physician that the original prescription was not filled. This leads to inaccurate future diagnoses or, worse, prescriptions for more potent dosages--strength that might not have been needed had the original prescription been filled and used. Increased use of some drugs can also lead to immunities and weakening of the efficacy of these drugs.
Why is this happening in America? Why are the drug companies encouraging physicians to write more and more prescriptions--often at higher and higher dosages?
What can be done to encourage and assist patients to fill their prescriptions and to force physicians to follow-up with the patients? One solution is better follow-up calls by physician office staff. Another interesting possibility is office drug drug dispensing using a service/product such as Dispensing Solutions which is legal in all states (with some restrictions in 5 states) and approved by the FDA. More information is available at the Dispensing Solution web-site.
