We must address America’s epidemic of medication non-adherence | Opinion

The printed instructions that come with prescriptions don't meet any FDA standard. That may soon change, but there are problems with the FDA's proposed rule.

As the president and executive director of the National Transitions of Care Coalition, we know all too well the dangers many Americans experience when aging and the health care challenges that come with it — like moving from a hospital to a nursing home. Medical information gets lost, new caretakers remain uninformed, and patients suffer. That’s why we strive to put life-saving information in the hands of those who need it.

In October, we spoke at two conferences here in Florida about the critical role medical professionals play in this transition of care and avoiding fatal errors like medication non-adherence.

Few causes of death are so preventable yet so common as medication non-adherence, a silent killer that takes away more than 100,000 lives every year. Taking medication incorrectly is an increasingly prevalent issue in Florida, where our state’s large retiree population means many Floridians rely on multiple prescription medications with specific instructions on how to take them. This patient medication information (PMI) is not standardized, overwhelming and hard to read and understand — leading to confusion, adverse health side effects, and — all too often — death.

Printed PMI that’s provided when prescriptions are picked up is our first defense against medication non-adherence, but it can be muddled and confusing. There is no legal standard PMI must satisfy, which leads to inconsistency, inaccuracy and incoherence. Most patients we encounter do not even attempt to read their PMI and simply throw it out because they’re overwhelmed with information. Instead, they rely on word-of-mouth, memory or their caregivers, increasing the likelihood of error.

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a rule to provide standards for PMI, but unfortunately, it doesn’t do enough. First, the rule updates and standardizes PMI formatting but fails to use research or scientifically backed methods to ensure the updated format is effective. Second, the rule allows for PMI to be provided digitally at the expense of printed PMI, which is a huge problem. Our seniors disproportionately take more prescription drugs than any other population; they’re also the same demographic that has trouble with technology and would not be able to access PMI reliably online.

Our experience in the health care field has taught us that convenience is key, and paper is simply more convenient and more reliable for most people taking prescription medication. Not only would digital PMI risk more lives, but going digital would put an unnecessary burden on our pharmacists. Any update to PMI needs to guarantee that no additional burden falls on pharmacists and require drug manufacturers to pay for and print PMI.

In order to protect seniors and avoid unintended consequences that would put Floridians’ lives at risk, the FDA must revise its rule to ensure PMI is accurate, effective and printed.

Sometimes, all it takes to save a life is putting the correct information into the right hands, literally and figuratively. We are tired of seeing Americans die from a preventable problem that our health policymakers have failed to solve.

Jacqueline Vance, of Tampa, is president of the National Transitions of Care Coalition. Cheri Lattimer, of Dewey, Arizona, is the organization’s executive director.