POOR adherence to medications affects approximately half of the patient population, leading to severe health complications, premature deaths, and an increased use of healthcare services, according to a new OECD Health Working Paper.
Three reasons behind the problem were developed in the paper.
Firstly, the issue has "rarely been explicitly included in national health policy agendas"; secondly, the problem is incorrectly identified as a patient matter when the health system and structures are major drivers; thirdly patients with chronic conditions frequently feel left out of the decision about their therapy and are inclined to rebuff.
The paper describes systemic "enablers" that can improve adherence - oecd-library.org.
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