{"id":59850,"date":"2025-07-30T14:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T21:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=59850"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:45:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:45:43","slug":"consistency-is-key-with-medications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/consistency-is-key-with-medications\/","title":{"rendered":"Consistency Is Key With Medications"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Consistency Is Key With Medications<\/h1>\t\t<time>July 30, 2025<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_b393e8a7fb68714a758c8dc8d709be27\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>We\u2019ve all heard the phrase: Follow your doctor\u2019s orders! Here\u2019s why consistency is so important, especially with your prescribed medications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consistently taking prescribed medications is crucial for effectively managing chronic conditions, leading to better overall health, reduced complications and improved quality of life. Taking drugs exactly as prescribed helps you maintain stable disease control and is a primary component of treatment success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy taking prescriptions as your provider has recommended, you can prevent new or worsening health problems,\u201d said Miranda Miller, director of <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/samaritan-community-based-palliative-care-program-expands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan\u2019s Value\u2011Based Care department<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Megan Jones, director of Outpatient Pharmacies, added: \u201cReceiving the appropriate dose of medication at the right time helps maintain therapeutic levels in your body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Jones, a good medication routine is vital because every time drug levels fall out of range there is a chance of drug resistance or disease instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 50% of patients stop taking their medications within one year of being prescribed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the 50% who continue taking their medications, 25% take them correctly and only 15% will refill as prescribed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research has shown that not being consistent with medications leads to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Higher rates of hospital admissions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased illness and mortality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poor health outcomes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Higher costs of care.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or congestive heart failure who take medications as prescribed are less likely to be hospitalized when compared to patients who don\u2019t adhere to medication prescriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Knowledge Is Power \u2014 Ask Questions!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When discussing medication consistency and adherence with your health care provider or pharmacist, important questions to ask are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How often should I take the medication?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How long will it take for this medication to start working?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What strategies can I use to remember to take my medication?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What if there are troubling side effects that make me not want to take the medication?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are symptom\u2011free and don\u2019t feel like taking your medication anymore, or are having difficulty taking your medication as prescribed, talk with your provider or pharmacist. This may also be a good time to talk about possible drug interactions among the different prescribed medications you are taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPharmacists are happy to help you understand your medications,\u201d Jones said. \u201cYou can also call your primary care provider or leave a message on <a href=\"https:\/\/mychart.samhealth.org\/MyChart\/Authentication\/Login?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MyChart.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pharmacist-and-woman-consult-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Male pharmacist consulting a female on a medication\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pharmacist-and-woman-consult-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pharmacist-and-woman-consult-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pharmacist-and-woman-consult-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"block_5267bd602da2385dc7aaadebaaa10530\" class=\"shs-block block-section grid-container has-blue-light-background-color\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-content\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More Resources for Prescription Medication Safety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Find a Samaritan pharmacy near you, learn how to track prescription status, know where to drop off drugs and get more information about medication safety with these resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/get-to-know-your-local-samaritan-pharmacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Get To Know Your Local Samaritan Pharmacies.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/track-your-prescription-status-with-text-alerts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Track Your Prescription Status With Text Alerts. <\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Drug-Takeback-Locations-Near-You.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Drug Drop-off Locations.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/health-services\/all-services\/pharmacy\/specialty-pharmacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan&#8217;s Specialty Pharmacy.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/medication-safety\/about\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Medication Safety and Your Health<\/a> (CDC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how consistency with taking your medications can reduce illness, hospitalizations and cost of health care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":60229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[293],"news-types":[270],"services":[256],"specialty":[],"class_list":["post-59850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-wellness","news-types-feature-article","services-pharmacy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59850"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=59850"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=59850"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=59850"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=59850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}