It is perfectly natural to forget to take a medication at some point – this is more likely if the medication is new, if the patient has to take the medication several times a day or if the patient is on more than one medication a day.
According to the statistics of the latest study conducted sponsored by Express Scripts® Pharmacy patients on maintenance medications miss doses 59% of the time.1
If it just slips your mind, then what should you do? To be taken as soon as you remember or not? Should you wait until the next dose? Do take two of your tablets if you can? Take it from our pharmacists here.
The consequences of not adhering to your prescription regimen
According to CDC, non-adherence (failing to take prescribed medication) is said to account for between 30-50% of treatment failure in chronic illnesses and a reported 125,000 mortalities every year. Meanwhile patients who adhere to their medication regimen are less likely to be admitted in the hospital or the emergency unit.
In general, the more doses one misses, the greater chance that a therapy won’t work as well and a disease will advance.
For example, failing to take a preventive puff of an asthma inhaler can lead to irritation of your airway lining. As with so many other medications, if one were to forget taking a dose of antidepressants, the effect on one’s mood is not quite positive. A single missed dose of your blood pressure medication could increase your chances of having a heart attack. Epileptic medication: You might have a seizure if you miss the dosage of anti-seizure medication.
What we advise you to do if you have missed that dose according to our experienced team of pharmacists.
If you missed your dose, simply go online through your express-scripts.com/rx account, click on the medication name to view common questions related to missed doses. Or you may look at the patient information that is given with the drugs that you take. Sometimes it has particular instructions regarding what to do in the case of a missed dose.
However if you are still in doubt, or uncertain, we strongly advise you consult with your healthcare provider. They may also guide the author about next course of action. Still wondering if a dose has been taken earlier? They can help with that too.
If you have Express Scripts® Pharmacy as part of your health benefits, you have immediate access to specially trained pharmacists available around the clock to answer these questions and others.
Some ideas for remembering to take the medicine
If you keep forgetting to take your medication, here are some simple tips that can help:
- Buy a pill organizer. Carrying a weekly pill box container with you can also effectively help remind you that you have taken your medicine.
- Purchase a timer cap. This is a device mostly on the prescription bottle that connects to your phone and reminds you when it is time to ingest the next pill.
- Take your medicine alongside something that is done daily. This could have been something like after you brushed your teeth or before you get dress.
- Set a reminder.
- A phone alarm or an alarm set in a calendar could be another option of Taking this medicine regularly means that you have to set a reminder on your phone or calendar and you simply take the medicine on that reminded time without even needing to be reminded.
- If your benefits include Express Scripts® Pharmacy, then getting reminders for the dosage is possible through the app – Express Scripts® Pharmacy.
Let me remind you that you’re not the only patient who ever had trouble staying disciplined with medicine. Find out how Express Scripts® Pharmacy can assist you.
Among 915 consumers, 1 September 2023 – Suzy research.
2 U.S. Food & Drug Administration: Understanding Why You Should Follow Doctors’ Instructions on Your Medicines (accessed August 23, 2023): https://bladgo.com/why-you-need-to-take-your-medications-as-prescribed/