Prescription Drug Compliance a Significant Challenge for Many
Patients, According to New National Survey
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – March 29, 2005 – One in three (33%) U.S. adults who
have been prescribed drugs to take on a regular basis report that they are often
or very often noncompliant with their treatment regimens for any number of
reasons. Furthermore, nearly half (45%) say they have failed to take their
medications because of concerns they had about the drugs themselves, and 43
percent report having not complied with their regimens because they felt the
drug was unnecessary.
These are some of the results of a Harris Interactive® online
survey of 2,507 U.S. adults conducted between March 16 and 18, 2005 for The Wall
Street Journal Online’s Health Industry Edition.
Of the 63 percent of adults who have had prescription drugs prescribed to
them in the last year, drugs which are to be taken regularly, nearly two-thirds
(64%) report that they have simply forgotten to take their medication, with 11
percent saying that this has happened "often" or "very
often." Other top reasons respondents cited for noncompliance with their
treatment regimens include:
- I had no symptoms or the symptoms went away (36%);
- I wanted to save money (35%);
- I didn’t believe the drugs were effective (33%);
- I didn’t think I needed to take them (31%);
- I had painful or frightening side effects (28%); and
- The drugs prevented me from doing other things I wanted to do (25%).
"Compliance problems are rampant for reasons that are multitudinous and
varied," states Katherine Binns, senior vice president of healthcare
research at Harris Interactive. "These barriers leading to noncompliance
present significant challenges to physicians and the U.S. healthcare system as a
whole that will be difficult to address."
TABLE 1
TAKING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ON A REGULAR BASIS
"In the last year, have you been prescribed any
medical drugs which you were supposed to take on a regular basis? By
"take on a regular basis" we mean any prescription that required you
to take multiple doses on a specific schedule, from a medication you’d take
for just a few days up to something you’d be taking for the rest of your life,
and anything in between."
Base: All Adults
| |
All Adults |
Age |
|
18–24 |
25–29 |
30–39 |
40–49 |
50-64 |
65+ |
| |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
Yes, drugs prescribed |
63 |
44 |
50 |
51 |
59 |
76 |
84 |
|
No, drugs not prescribed |
36 |
55 |
49 |
47 |
40 |
22 |
16 |
|
Not sure/Can’t remember |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
- |
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 2
REASONS FOR NONCOMPLIANCE
"Please review this list of why people sometimes do not
always take the drugs prescribed for them and say for each one how often you
think it has happened to you in the last year."
Base: Those with any drugs prescribed in the last year
| |
Failed to Take Rx Drugs
(NET) |
Very Often/ Often
(NET) |
Very Often |
Often |
From Time to Time/
A Few Times/Once or Twice (NET) |
From Time to Time |
A Few Times |
Once or Twice |
Never |
| |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
I forgot to take them |
64 |
11 |
4 |
8 |
53 |
12 |
15 |
25 |
36 |
|
I had no symptoms or the symptoms went away |
36 |
9 |
3 |
6 |
26 |
9 |
8 |
10 |
64 |
|
I wanted to save money |
35 |
14 |
8 |
6 |
21 |
5 |
5 |
11 |
65 |
|
I didn’t believe the drugs were effective |
33 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
26 |
8 |
5 |
13 |
67 |
|
I didn’t think I needed to take them |
31 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
25 |
6 |
6 |
12 |
69 |
|
I had painful or frightening side effects |
28 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
21 |
5 |
6 |
10 |
72 |
|
The drugs prevented me from doing other things I wanted to do |
25 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
18 |
6 |
4 |
8 |
75 |
|
Nobody reminded me to keep taking it or to refill my prescription |
20 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
13 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
80 |
|
I had difficulty getting the prescription filled |
20 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
80 |
|
The drugs tasted or smelled unpleasant |
19 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
81 |
|
I had difficulty opening the bottle or swallowing the drug |
16 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
84 |
|
I was confused by all the drugs I had to take |
15 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
85 |
TABLE 3
SUMMARY OF COMPLIANCE PROBLEMS
Base: Those with any drugs prescribed in the last year
| |
Total |
| |
% |
|
Percent who are often or very often non-compliant for any reason |
33 |
|
Percent who have been non-compliant because of concerns about the drug
itself |
45* |
|
Percent who have been non-compliant because they felt the drug was
unnecessary |
43** |
* Includes all respondents who said "once or twice, a few times, from
time to time, often or very often" to at least one of the following
reasons: "I didn’t believe the drugs were effective," "I had
painful or frightening side effects," "the drug tasted or smelled
unpleasant."
** Includes all respondents who said "once or twice, a few times, from
time to time, often or very often" to at least one of the following
reasons: "I didn’t think I needed to take them," "I had no
symptoms or the symptoms went away."
J17063
Q405, Q410
Downloadable PDFs of Wall Street Journal Online/Harris
Interactive Health-Care Polls are posted at
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_wsj.asp.
Methodology
This poll was conducted online in the United States between March 16 and 18,
2005 among a nationwide cross section of 2,507 adults aged 18 and over, of whom
1,648 have had drugs prescribed to them in the last year, drugs to be taken
regularly for at least a few days or up to a lifetime. Figures for age, sex,
race/ethnicity, education, income and region were weighted where necessary to
align with population proportions. Propensity score weighting was also used to
adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95
percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling error
of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Sampling error for the results of adults
who have had drugs prescribed to them in the last year is plus or minus 4
percentage points. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of
error in polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical
calculations of sampling error. This includes refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse),
question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify
the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample was not a
probability sample.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National
Council on Public Polls.
About the Survey
The Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll is an
exclusive poll that is published in the award-winning Health Industry Edition of
The Wall Street Journal Online at www.wsj.com/health.
About The Wall Street Journal Online
The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones &
Company (NYSE: DJ; www.dowjones.com), offers authoritative analysis, breaking
news and commentary from top industry journalists. Launched in 1996, the Online
Journal is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web, with more than
689,000 subscribers world-wide. The Online Journal provides in-depth business
news and financial information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with insight
and analysis, including breaking business and technology news and analysis from
around the world. It draws on the Dow Jones network of more than 1,500 reporters
and editors -- the largest staff of business and financial journalists in the
world. For the second consecutive year in 2003, the Online Journal received a
WebAward for the "Best Newspaper Web Site" and was also cited by
Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as the "Best Business News" site (2002
& 2001).
About Dow Jones & Company
In addition to The Wall Street Journal and its international and online
editions, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dowjones.com) also publishes
Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones
Indexes and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner
with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC of the
CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news
content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
About Harris Interactive®
Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), the 15th
largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester,
N.Y.-based global research company that blends premier strategic consulting with
innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application.
Known for The Harris Poll® and for pioneering Internet-based
research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to
help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.
Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and
technology to advance market leadership through U.S. offices and wholly owned
subsidiaries: London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris (www.novatris.com),
Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan, through newly acquired WirthlinWorldwide,
a Reston, Virginia-based research and consultancy firm ranked 25th
largest in the world, and through an independent global network of affiliate
market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V
To become a member of the Harris Poll OnlineSM and be invited to
participate in future online surveys, visit www.harrispollonline.com.
Press Contacts:
Nicole C. Pyhel
The Wall Street Journal Online
609-520-4057
Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive
585-214-7316
Kelly Gullo
Harris Interactive
585-214-7172
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