The miracle of prescription medications is evident. Medications are carefully researched, tested, and then mass produced to benefit the people of this world. Whether the medication is prescribed for only 7-10 days, or once a day for the rest of your life, prescriptions can make a sick body well again. While prescription drugs may be available, that doesn’t mean everyone who needs them can afford them. Even if they can, that doesn’t mean they will be diligent in properly adhering to their prescribed medication regimen. As many as half of all patients do not follow their doctor’s overall health recommendations, and as many as one third of patients don’t fill their prescribed medications.
Type 1 Diabetes
There are 1.25 million Americans living with Type 1 Diabetes, with 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Less than one-third of those people maintain their blood glucose at their target levels. Diabetes is not a disease to be taken lightly. If left untreated it can cause emergency metabolic crises, as well as damage or failure to the kidneys, heart, eyes, nerves, blood vessels, and other vital organs. This begs the question; why not strictly adhere to your prescribed lifestyle and medication regimen? The answer is complicated and the reasons vary. However, many of the reasons come down to cost. With an annual healthcare cost of $14 billion in the US associated to Type 1 Diabetes, that averages out to approximately $11,200 per patient per year. For many Americans, it’s a high price to pay when they’re already struggling just to make ends meet. Many lower income families who have children with Type 1 Diabetes cannot afford the medications nor the health insurance to assist with paying for those medications. Those children often end up in the hospital with medical staff taking extreme measures to bring their blood sugar and insulin levels back to safe and normal levels. While that may save the child’s life temporarily, what will happen when the child leaves the hospital and cost prohibitive factors leave the parents continually unable to manage the disease? The world of disease is wide and far reaching. Comprehensive education by doctors and pharmacists, utilization of patient assistance programs and organizations such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation are all crucial in the fight to help those struggling with disease to properly adhere to their prescribed medication regimen and overall health goals.