Medication Adherence Program Information
Good reasons to take doctor-prescribed medication
If you are taking medication for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, you should have received a letter regarding the AlaskaCare Medication Adherence Program. This program is designed to help you better manage your condition by taking your medication as your doctor directs. But you may be asking yourself, “Why bother? Why should I be concerned about my medication?" And more importantly, "Why is the health plan concerned?"
One of the most important things you can do to achieve better health is to make sure you are taking your medication as prescribed by your doctor. Consider these statistics:
An estimated 50% of patients do not comply with the treatment their doctor prescribes. This group is responsible for:
- 10% to 25% of all hospital and nursing home admissions, resulting in 340 deaths per day
- Three times as many doctor visits and $2,000 annually for each patient who does not follow treatment plans as opposed to those who do
- 33% to 69% of all medication-related hospital admissions in the United States at a cost of more than $100 billion annually
- 20% of unintentional pregnancies in the United States at a cost of $2.6 billion annually
The costs involved are staggering — $290 billion dollars annually in increased medical costs with $100 billion resulting from medication-related hospitalizations.
The conditions targeted by this program are the four top ranking in terms of cost to the health plan. Cost to the health plan means cost to you either in copayments or in premiums or both. But more importantly, investing a little time to ensure you are taking medication as directed can have a dramatic outcome on your health. The Medication Adherence Program's quarterly report, mailed to you, is a tool to help you. And if you have opted out of the Medication Adherence Program, you can easily opt back in by calling the pharmacy program at (866) 342-2183.