What Tends to Go Wrong With Medication Adherence?

This is the third article in a series about problems people have taking their medication. The previous article categorized various ways that information technology can help. This article looks at special conditions that weren’t covered in previous articles.

Interventions Must Be Tailored

Reminders lie at the core of many IT solutions to medication adherence. But a mechanistic delivery of generic messages with no particular appeal to a patient’s needs and values will usually be a waste. As Bryan Hill, VP of digital health and innovation at Cognizant, says, “Nudge, but don’t nag.”

I am personally annoyed by the messages my pharmacy and insurance company send me to remind me to order my medication. These messages arrive when a couple months of my current prescriptions remain, so they’re asking me to get medication that will age before I take it. More pointedly, I’ve been taking some of these drugs for more than 20 years and I have never missed a renewal, so you think the insurer would notice and let me alone.