CVS/pharmacy helping consumers with challenge of filling prescriptions on time

WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS/pharmacy introduced Thursday a free program that automatically fills prescriptions for maintenance medications and calls the patient to remind them that their medication is ready to be picked up.

“It is very important for patients to maintain their medication regimen. Skipping medications for any reason can be risky and patients may end up comprising their health and having more costs in the long run. Patients should talk to their pharmacist about the best way to manage prescriptions, and simple tools like ReadyFill can help,” stated Papatya Tankut, VP pharmacy professional services for CVS Caremark.

Consumers must sign up to participate in the free ReadyFill program.

According to a new study from CVS Caremark, 28% of patients said they sometimes forget to refill their prescriptions on time, and this is despite the fact that most (86%) believe they can stick to a daily medication schedule. In addition, more than half (52%) said it would be useful if their pharmacy would remind them when it?s time to refill.

The 2009 CVS Caremark Health IQ Study, which examined consumer attitudes and behaviors around health care and prescription usage, found additional reasons why consumers may not be taking their medications and challenges to them filling prescriptions on time:

• Many (43%) admit to simply having forgotten, on occasion, to take their medications.
• 21% of women take five or more prescriptions each month and must remember to fill all of them on time.
• 47% of women said they are more likely to forget to take their own medications than they are to forget to give medication to another family member.
• 34% said they sometimes stop taking their medications if they feel worse while taking them.
• 26% sometimes stop taking their medications if they feel better.
• Some consumers (21%) admit to being careless about taking their medications as prescribed.
• Younger consumers (ages 20 to 34) are more likely than others to report not taking their medications.

Medication non-adherence is a significant, often unrecognized risk factor that can contribute to poor health outcomes and escalate healthcare costs. It is estimated that non-adherence costs the United States $177 billion a year.

The online study was commissioned in April and conducted among 2,000 consumers who report taking at least one maintenance medication. Cooper Research, a health care research company in Cincinnati, conducted the study.