$290B in Costs for Non-Adherence to Medications
September 22, 2009 | Terry Sharrer
Perhaps the greatest medical accomplishment of the past half century has been the decline in mortality due to acute diseases like heart failure and cancer. Simultaneously, acute disorders have become chronic illnesses, ameliorated by drug therapies. So, in today’s debates about healthcare reform, much attention has fallen on drug costs, but a less visible factor with that concern is non-compliance with medication adherence.
A recent study from the New England Healthcare Institute reports that non-compliance costs $290B a year in increased medical services, such as hospital readmissions, and treating conditions that become acute. For telemedicine solutions to medication adherence, this $290B market ought to be the goalpost. MORE