As the US health care reform debate rages on, all parties can agree on one thing: our nation’s
broad health care goals, such as expanding access to health insurance, will only be achieved if
we can rein in health care costs. And one of the most straightforward, proven ways to reduce
costs while improving patient health is through better medication adherence.

Poor medication adherence – not following medication regimens as directed – is a pervasive
problem that is increasingly recognized as a significant source of waste in our health care
system and as having a significantly adverse effect on patient outcomes. According to a recent
Deloitte Study, only four in ten Americans say they take their medications as directed. This has
significant and well-documented consequences. According to the National Council on Patient
Information and Education, “patients commonly fail to take their medications as directed,
leading to unnecessary hospital admissions and even death, costing the health care system as
much as $177 billion a year.”

To read the full study, please click here.