I read an article titled Take as Directed which was written by Stephen Smith on www.Boston.com May 10, 2010. (http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/05/10/millions_of_patients_skip_drug_doses_or_never_get_prescriptions/?page=2) The article talks about how patients which have been prescirbed medicine for heart disease, cholestoral issues, blood pressure problems, etc. all over the US have been known for putting off taking medicine all the time. Recently in some places, the usual rate of missed doses was 22% ! Some hospitals have started doing experiments by rewarding the patients for taking their medicine. One hospital made it so that when patients opened their pill compartments on the right schedule, they had a chance to win $3 to $100. This lowered the usual rate of missed doses from 22% to 2%! An incredible drop of 20%. The article also talks about how in some cases doctors would go to patients houses to help them take their medication, and to make sure that it was taken at all. A case of this was with a woman named Carole Connolley,71, which was diagnosed with 2 forms of diabetes. She was prescribed to a certain insulin, as well as other medications. At first, a nurse went to her house to help her with the medications 3-4 times a week, now however Connolley takes the medications on her own. Before she was allowed to leave the hospital she was spoken to about how important it is for her to take all of the medications she was told to.“The health consequences are so enormous and the expenses are so enormous that we’re trying some of these innovative methods on clinical conditions with the greatest return of investment,’’ said Dr. Peter Berger
After reading this article, i knew right away that this was the perfect article to connect with our class. We have learned so much about Haiti in the past couple of weeks, and how Paul Farmer and the Partners in Health work extremely hard day and night on making sure that their patients take their medications. I know myself that it's extremely hard to take the whole dose of medicine when you are prescribed to it, especially when you start feeling better, and feeling that the symptoms are going away. When i was taking antibiotics for lime disease last summer, i began feeling better within 3 days of starting to take the medicine, but my doctor kept telling me that i needed to take all the pills before i was 100% safe. I never understood this until I learned that this is how bacteria/viruses become immune to certain antibiotics.
I loved this article because it shows how much ignorance their is when it comes to medicine. Everyone stops doing the thing that makes them feel ill, but medicine is one of the rare things that should be taken even when it makes you feel worse at the time. In the article someone talks about how they wanted to stop taking the medicine because it made them feel sick, this is ironic because in the long run it is helping them, but it is natural for someone to stop taking something when it starts making them feel sick. The article shows controversey because most dont want to believe that their is ignorance in such an important field. Articles like this however will help to clear things up.
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This article was truly interesting, as we have been discussing the fact that one of the reasons that there is so much antibiotic resistance is because patients are not fully finishing their prescribed antibiotics. I think that in the US, the problem with not finishing antibiotics is perhaps often laziness--people just can't be bothered with finishing their medication. However, for patients taking medications for TB, the temptation to not finish medications is real, as the medications for TB cause harsh side effects. In my opinion, people in the US should try to always finish out their medications, as it is important to not contribute to the antibiotic resistance issue any further.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article. I think it could also be connected to the superbug and TB. Many times people don't finish their medicine, many people will fully admit that they don't. Some people want to leave some for later or that they are fine. Many times when you are getting better you go worse first. Your body needs time to recuperate and make new white blood cells to fight of infection. I also found the part where people were told they could get awards for taking their medicine and then they started to take them! It just goes to show human nature and the way the world has ended up being like. That people know that taking medicine will make them better, but will only do anything about it when they are offered awards. Almost like we can't do anything if we don't receive something in return.
ReplyDeleteI find it crazy that people don't take their medicine or don't finish all of it. After learning about all of the health risks that are involved with not finishing your medication, it is crazy to think why people don't finish them. I think there should be a way to warn people about the consiqences it can lead to.
ReplyDeleteNot taking medicine, or ceasing suddenly, is a major problem for heart or blood pressure medicines. Sudden cessation leads to spikes in blood pressure or heart rate and can land patients back in the hospital. The stopping of medicine early does remind me of the people in Haiti in Mountains Beyond Mountains who stop their pill regimen early due to side effects or laziness. For me, I have been tempted to stop taking my psychiatric medicines before, specifically mood stabilizers, because part of me wants a return to the manic phases. But I have to remember the consequences of such actions and therefore take my medicine daily.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a great choice by tobey and he seemed genuinely interested in the article which was a very nice touch. Also, i agree with Tobey's connection to how we all must take the full doses of antibiotics because the bacteria will learn to become resistant if we do not and then that antibiotic may not work on our body again. Not to mention I thought it was interesting how hospitals were giving out rewards in some form for patients taking their medication, it was something I had never heard before but it is a good reason to take you medication I suppose.
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