Q.What is medication nonadherence?
A.Medication nonadherence is when a patient doesn’t take a medication, either willfully or inadvertently, as prescribed by their healthcare provider. Studies have shown that 50% of Canadians do not take their prescription medications exactly as prescribed. Each year, medication nonadherence is the cause of 10% of all hospital admissions, 25% of hospital admissions for the elderly, and 23% of all nursing home admissions. Medications are an important tool in the management of health, but if they are not used properly, they can cause serious harm.