Great article on how to talk to your doctor about embarrassing medical problems - Dr. Vicki Rackner has the same sense of teaching patients how to take charge of their own health and care as I do - of course, she’s much younger and seemingly more energetic so Bravo to her for championing the cause! Check her out.

The realization hit Natalie like a ton of bricks. Her mother, Joann, had literally died of embarrassment! Joann had noticed blood in her stool almost a year before she was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first she told herself it must have been those beets she ate. Then she thought it was most likely her hemorrhoids, although she had not had a flair-up of hemorrhoids since Natalie’s birth 52 years earlier.

The truth was that Joann was embarrassed to talk with her doctor about private topics such as her bowel habits. She didn’t raise the concern with her doctor until she had bloating, cramping and abdominal pain. This led to the diagnosis of colon cancer that ultimately took her life. Natalie’s brother-in-law, who was a nurse, wondered whether Joann would still be alive if she had told her doctor about the blood in her stool when she first noticed it.

Let’s face it; certain topics are embarrassing to talk about with your doctor. I call them the 5 P’s:

• Peeing
• Pooping
• Paying
• Procreating
• Psychic moaning

Although at first blush the challenge of talking with your doctor about embarrassing medical topics seems simple enough, for some people, it can cause significant suffering.

Hillary, for example, had what’s now called a shy bladder. She had not used a public restroom in over 20 years. She was too embarrassed to talk with her doctor about this; instead, she remained a prisoner to her bladder.

Ed was laid off from work and could no longer afford his asthma medications. Instead of talking with his doctor about it, he decided to do without He wound up in the emergency room with an asthma attack that could have been avoided with regular medication.

Tom had some sexual side effects from his blood pressure medicine. Instead of talking with his doctor and getting a different medicine, he just stopped taking it. The doctors wonder if this might have contributed to his heart attack.

Jerry noticed his loss of appetite and sleeping problems as his caregiver responsibilities for his aging father mounted. He wondered if he might be depressed, but dismissed the thought because real men don’t get depressed.

Imagine how each of these stories might have been different if these individuals who suffered in silence could have talked with their doctors.

Here are 6 tips that can help you talk with your doctor about embarrassing medical topics:

1. Own the embarrassment.

Say to your doctor, “This is a taboo topic in our family, so it’s hard for me to ask. Is it normal to have a funny smell coming from your belly button?"

2. Find the words.

Your doctor speaks a specialized language acquired through years of training. Sometimes patients are embarrassed because they don’t know the “right words" or have a hard time describing the problem.

Remember that your job is to communicate. You don’t need to know the fancy words to do that. If a patient said to me, “Dad had an operation on the dingle-ball thing at the back of his throat", I would know just what he meant. And, the patient would seem relieved when I said, “Oh, you mean the uvula."

The best way to make sure you and your doctor understand each other is to use anatomically correct words. Get a basic anatomy atlas. Use anatomically correct words with your children.

3. Practice saying the words.

Sometimes embarrassing words can be hard to get out of your mouth. Gertrude, a 90-year-old patient said to me, “You youngsters don’t understand how much things have changed. When I got breast cancer in the 1962, the words ‘breast’ and ‘cancer’ were not uttered in polite company." Some words are still embarrassing to say. Practice saying these words out loud when you’re alone! That will make it easier to say them at the doctor’s office

4. Find the right person to ask.

You may have an easy rapport with the nurse or physician’s assistant at your doctor’s office. You can bring up the sensitive topic with them. Say, “Trish, could you please give the doctor a heads up. I want to know why I should say no to those steroids my buddies at the gym are offering me. I would love to look like they do."

5. Find the right way to ask.

Maybe it’s easier for you to drop a note or a cartoon to your doctor rather than ask in person. Find the style that works best for you.

6. Remember that your doctor is there to help you, not to judge you.

Your doctor has heard it all before. I promise! Your doctor will not think less of you for asking an embarrassing medical question; in fact, your doctor with think more of you for overcoming your fear and helping you take charge of your health.

Dr. Vicki is a board-certified surgeon who left the operating room to help families take the most direct path from illness to optimal health. Her book, “The Personal Health Journal", can save your life today by helping you understand your health story. Empower yourself with the tips and tools that will help you direct your story and partner with your doctor more effectively at: http://www.drvicki.org/drvicki-store-health-journal.html 

Excellent article on compliance (following your doctor’s directions) and what influences it 

Most people follow only half of their doctor’s advice. The half they don’t follow often means the difference between a successful treatment and a lingering illness or even death. Find out what you can do to get the most out of your health care. It is so common for patients to disregard their doctor’s advice that there is a term for it in medical circles: Noncompliance. In fact, numerous studies and countless seminars and educational materials have been dedicated to solving this problem. A noncompliant patient is one who simply forgets to take medications on time, misunderstands the directions, cannot make the lifestyle changes required for certain treatments or simply ignores medical advice. Such neglect often has tragic consequences. It is estimated that 125,000 people with treatable ailments die each year simply because they do not take prescribed medications properly or they skip them altogether.

The blame for noncompliance, however, does not lie entirely with the patient. Health care professionals frequently fail to take the time to clarify a treatment, make sure the patient understands why it’s important to follow the plan precisely, explain possible side effects, or ask if a patient’s lifestyle might interfere with the therapy so that it can be customized.

Ideally, a patient and doctor should work together as a team to ensure the most effective medical care. But it doesn’t always work out that way. So don’t assume your health care provider is giving you all the pertinent information. Whenever treatment is prescribed–even if it’s a simple course of antibiotics–make sure you have all the facts, including the possible results of not following through with your doctor’s recommendations.

Why Patients Don’t Comply

Often, people do not follow their physician’s instructions because they don’t have adequate information regarding their condition or medication. Other reasons for noncompliance:

Symptoms disappear before treatment is finished. Many patients discontinue medications or other forms of therapy as soon as they feel better, even though the healing process is not yet complete. This is particularly true with antibiotics.

The treatment causes more symptoms than the illness. Many medicines cause uncomfortable side effects, so when patients have disorders such as hypertension, which have few or no discernible symptoms, it is hard for them to see the benefit of taking a drug that makes them feel worse. For the same reason, noncompliance is very high when medication is prescribed to prevent an illness from developing.

"It can’t happen to me." Some patients with threatening health problems, such as high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, refuse to take the necessary precautions because they believe heart attacks only happen to "other people."

Life-style changes are too hard to make. Many patients have a difficult time making prescribed life-style changes, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly and changing their eating habits.

Patients come to identify the treatment with their illness. Some people hate feeling dependent on drugs, so they stop taking their medication to deny they are sick. Others stop taking medicine to see if they are "cured" yet.

Patients adjust the dosage of their medication without consulting their physician. Many people, particularly those with chronic ailments, feel a need to take control of their problem. And they try to do so by taking control of their medication dosage.

The cost of treatment is too high. Many prescription drugs are extremely expensive.

Work and family demands interfere with following the therapy correctly. Due to hectic schedules, people sometimes find it hard to stick to their treatment regimen.

What You Can Do to Maximize Your Treatment

The most important factor in making the most of your medical care is good communication between you and your doctor. Here are some practical steps you can take to accomplish that goal:

1. Tape record or write down what the physician says.

2. Make sure you understand the prescription schedule, and let the doctor know if you think your activities will interfere with it. Call your physician if you find that you cannot take your medication at the appropriate times. Together, you can work out a schedule that meets your needs. (See Make the Most of Your Medications.)

3. Ask what you should do if you miss a dose of medication or a therapy session and whether you should discontinue treatment when you feel better.

4. Let your doctor know if you have had bad experiences in the past with any portion of the prescribed treatment plan and if you are currently being treated for another condition. Find out how to manage both treatment plans simultaneously.

5. Find out what side effects you should expect and which aren’t normal and should be reported to your doctor.

6. Ask for a referral to a support group that deals with your ailment. If your therapy calls for lifestyle changes you feel will be hard for you to make, ask for a referral to a professional who can help, such as a dietitian for changes in your diet or a smoking program for quitting smoking.

7. Don’t be afraid to ask the doctor to simplify instructions by using less technical terms or giving you concrete examples. If your doctor seems impatient with your questions or brushes them off, explain that it is important to you to understand the recommendations clearly because you want to be able to follow them. If your physician still is not responsive, you may want to consider finding another doctor who appreciates an involved patient.

8. If you cannot afford the prescribed drug, ask your doctor about manufacturer aid. Most major drug companies now have programs to give drugs to patients who either don’t have insurance or the means to pay for their medications. The details of such aid vary widely depending on the manufacturer, but all of them require that the doctor put in the application for you

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revealing Statistics

The following statistics illustrate how widespread noncompliance really is among Americans: Only 55 percent of tuberculosis patients, 48 percent of diabetics, 46 percent of asthmatics, and 42 percent of glaucoma patients use their medicines correctly.

From 14 to 21 percent of patients never even fill their original prescriptions.

10 percent of adolescent pregnancies result from non-compliance with birth control medication.

60 percent of all patients cannot identify their own medicines.

From 30 percent to 50 percent of all patients ignore or otherwise compromise instructions on how to take medication.

Nearly one-fourth (23 percent) of nursing home admissions are related to improper self-administration of medicine.

From 12 percent to 20 percent of patients take other people’s medicines.

The cost of hospital admissions is an estimated $8.5 billion annually just for patients who do not take their medications as prescribed.

 

(Sources: The Food and Drug Administration and The National Council on Patient Information and Education)

 

Excellent article from the University of Chicago’s Medical Center 

Talking to Your Doctor about Asthma

Good communication between people with asthma and their health care providers is essential for making the most of health care, and for ensuring that quality of life is the best it can be. Communication isn’t always easy, though, and both sides have to work to make sure that understanding is reached. Being "the patient" can sometimes feel intimidating and confusing. Many of us have had the experience of leaving a doctor’s office never having asked a question we went in meaning to ask.

Here are some things to think about to make your interactions with your health care provider the best that they can be.

Prepare for each visit. Write out any questions you have, or anything particular you have to report. That way, even if you get flustered during the visit, you can refer to your list and make sure not to forget anything important.

Take along any records that you keep at home. Many people with asthma keep symptom diaries, and/or logs of daily peak flow measurements and medication use. It can be tremendously helpful to your care provider to be able to go over these, to track how you’ve been doing from day to day.

Take along all of your inhalers and other medications (including the ones that are not for asthma). This is vitally important, especially if you are taking more than one or two medicines.

Be assertive (not aggressive). Speaking up is not always easy, but it is important for your care provider to know what your concerns are. If you don’t get a response initially to your question or your worry, just ask again. If you don’t understand what you are told (doctors and other health professionals sometimes forget and lapse into medical jargon), ask for clarification. Be both persistent and polite. You should be able to keep interactions respectful and friendly while still being firm about getting the information that you need.

Similarly, if you do not feel comfortable with a proposed treatment or test, make that clear to your care provider. There may be alternatives available, and you can’t know until you bring it up!

Be truthful. A health care provider needs to know what is really going on with you in order to make good (and safe!) decisions about your care. If you have not been taking a prescribed medicine, or have not been doing your peak flow measurements, say so! (Giving incomplete or false reports in these situations can be DANGEROUS, because your health care provider is basing your treatments on the information.)

If you have not been following the recommended plan, it is also very helpful if you can explain the reasons that you haven’t. That starts the conversation. Then you can work out a plan together that comes closest to fitting all of your needs (health, safety, convenience, comfort, and cost).

Find a health care provider you can work with. Even the smartest, most accomplished doctor in the world might not be the right one for you if you can’t communicate with each other. Most health plans offer a choice of different physicians and other care providers (such as nurse practitioners). Don’t be afraid to shop around until you find someone who is right for you:

• Someone you trust
• Someone who listens to you
• Someone who respects you
• Someone who answers your questions and explains things in a way you can understand
• Someone who is willing to negotiate with you and take your concerns into account

Be a partner in your own care. You are the person who has the most power over your health. Doctors and nurses have expert knowledge and can guide you in choosing a treatment path, but you are still the one caring for yourself day in and day out. Take an active role!

BE YOUR OWN EXPERT. Learn what you can about asthma, especially about your different treatment options, and steps you can take to keep yourself healthy. Know what to do if you start having worse symptoms or if your peak-flow measurements go down (signalling the possible start of an asthma episode). Know when to call your health care provider, and when to go to the emergency room. (If possible, get written instructions to keep on hand.)

BE YOUR OWN HISTORIAN. Keep records of your asthma care. Know the names of medicines you are taking, and medicines you have tried in the past. Be able to report how well they worked for you, and whether you had any side-effects from them. If a symptom diary or peak-flow log is part of your care plan, keep it up to date and organized. Keep a list of things that have triggered asthma episodes for you.

BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE. Health care is not one-size-fits-all. Your preferences and priorities are important in determining the asthma care most appropriate for you. Let your care providers know what is important to you. Do you just hate taking pills? Are you unable to take medicine in the middle of the day while you are at work? Is sleeping through the night your top priority? Speak up! Negotiate!

BE YOUR OWN DRILL-SERGEANT. There are difficulties with maintaining any kind of daily regimen, whether it’s exercise or diet or doing one good deed every day. Staying faithful to a medication and inhaler regimen can be even trickier, because we don’t like to be reminded of illness, especially when we’re feeling healthy. But remember that it’s sticking to your treatment plan that keeps you healthy. Be strict with yourself, and stay on your program

Expect good asthma control. Some people with asthma are so used to having their activity limited and feeling crummy all the time that they have grown to accept this as normal. It doesn’t have to be!

With careful treatment (and sticking to the treatment plan), the vast majority of people with asthma can achieve good asthma control. Good asthma control means:

• sleeping through the night without being awakened by coughing or wheezing
• being able to exercise as much as a person without asthma
• not missing school or work days due to asthma
• not having to go to the emergency room or into the hospital for asthma · using a quick-relief inhaler once a day or less
• being able to do the things you want to do without asthma getting in the way

If you do not have good asthma control, talk to your health care provider about changing your treatment plan.

This is a pretty cool post from Dr. Levister on Black Voice News Online.

Choosing a Doctor You Can Talk To

Dear Dr. Levister:  I get frustrated when I have to see my doctor. He’s usually in a hurry. The communication is always one way. He speaks I listen. Is it time to find a new doctor?  D.C.

Dear D.C. How well you and your doctor talk to each other is one of the most important parts of getting good health care. Poor communications is the number one driving force behind race and sex based health disparities. Unfortunately, choosing a doctor you can talk to isn’t always easy. It takes time and effort on your part as well as your doctor’s.

In the past, the doctor typically took the lead and the patient followed. Today with the complexities and costs of health and managed care, a good doctor, patient relationship is more of a partnership with patient and doctor working together to solve medical problems and maintain the patient’s good health. Becoming a strong  advocate for your own health is essential.

If you are not at ease with the doctor you currently see, now may be the time to find a new doctor. The first step in good communication is finding a doctor with whom you can talk. Having a main doctor (often called a primary doctor) is one of the best ways to ensure your good health. He or she can help you make sound medical decisions and can communicate your health needs with other specialists and health care providers you may need.

Decide what you are looking for in a doctor. Identify several possible doctors. Consult reference sources. Learn more about the doctors you are considering. Make a choice. Don’t be shy about asking questions. Talking about your health means sharing information about how you feel both physically and emotionally. Knowing how to describe your symptoms, discuss treatments, and talk with specialists will help you become a better partner in your health care. Taking an active role in your  care puts the responsibility for good communication on both you and your doctor. 

If you have Ulcerative Colitis or know someone who has it, read this…. 

 

This shows that it is a good thing to have those ads on TV that talk about Ulcerative Colitis - just as it is good to have the ads about erectile dysfunction - we need to raise awareness about these conditions for those who know nothing about them - and it helps people know they are not alone and there are treatments out there for them.

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Sufferers Find UC Quite Disruptive to Many Aspects of Daily Life

UC’s Overall Psychological Toll Is Greater Than for Asthma, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Migraines

WAYNE, Pa., May 17 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly three out of four ulcerative colitis (UC) sufferers (73 percent) responding to a new nationwide survey say not feeling well has become a normal part of life. Furthermore, they describe UC as disruptive when it comes to their relationship with a spouse (64 percent), their sexual relations (75 percent) and their emotional state (82 percent).

UC patients "normalize" aspects of their experience to the point that they resign themselves to these burdens. The majority say that there is not much they can do beyond what they are already doing to feel better (70 percent) and they have learned to live with the disruptions that UC causes (83 percent).

"The findings sound an alarm because a diagnosis of UC shouldn’t mean patients are settling for the level of burden reported in this survey for the next 50 or 60 years. UC is a manageable disease with the appropriate therapy," says David Rubin, M.D., a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center who helped design the surveys.

UC is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the intestine and can lead to symptoms such as severe abdominal pain and cramping, uncontrollable bloody diarrhea several times a day, fatigue and weight loss. It is typically first diagnosed in people between the ages of 15 to 30 and is estimated to affect nearly 700,000 Americans.

The objective of the surveys was to understand how UC affects patients’ lives, including definitions of what’s normal, the threshold for letting the disease disrupt life, and how patients manage their condition. The surveys, titled "UC: NORMAL (New Observations on Remission Management and Lifestyle)" were sponsored by Shire Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biopharmaceutical company which markets UC medications LIALDA(TM) and PENTASA(R) (mesalamines). Please see Important Safety Information included below.

UC patients generally report more stress/depression compared to other diseases

The findings illustrate that UC takes a heavy psychological toll, which is further brought to light when comparing UC patient responses to the survey responses of people with three other chronic health conditions — migraines, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and asthma, who were also surveyed as part of UC: NORMAL. Eighty-two percent of UC patients said their condition made life more stressful versus 75 percent of migraine patients, 69 percent of RA patients and 46 percent of asthma patients. Furthermore, 62 percent of UC patients reported feeling sometimes or always depressed about having their condition, versus 49 percent of migraine patients, 52 percent of RA patients and 25 percent of asthma patients.

More than four out of five people (84 percent) with UC say they worry about the long-term health effects of having UC, compared to 45 percent of migraine patients, 72 percent of RA patients and 58 percent of asthma patients. Specific worries most commonly mentioned by UC patients were developing colon cancer, having their colon removed, requiring surgery and public fecal incontinence.

Compliance is a challenge

The survey found that 32 percent of UC patients are not currently taking medication to treat their UC. For patients who are taking medications, compliance is an issue. Of those UC patients taking aminosalicylates (5-ASAs), the first-line therapy and most commonly prescribed class of medication for UC, only about half (54 percent) reported that they have taken all of their 5-ASA medications in the past seven days.

Past studies confirm compliance challenges and report that patients who are noncompliant with their prescribed UC medications have a five-fold greater risk of flare-ups than compliant patients. Traditionally, 5-ASA therapies required two to four times daily dosing and up to 6 to 16 pills a day.

"It’s troubling that almost one-third of UC patients are not taking medication because the standard of care is that all patients with a diagnosis of UC should be on medication to maintain control of the condition and reduce the likelihood of relapse," says Dr. Rubin. "The other challenge we need to address is compliance. More convenient dosing regimens such as once-daily dosage formulations may be part of the solution."

Bridging the physician/patient gap

Patients are also normalizing their experiences with flare-ups, a serious worsening of UC symptoms. UC patients reported an average of eight flare-ups per year. Four out of five (81 percent) of those surveyed say they consider the number of flare-ups they experience to be "normal" for their condition. On the other hand, in a survey of gastroenterologists also done as part of UC: NORMAL, physicians reported that a "typical" number of flare-ups per year on average is three among all patients (2 flare-ups if condition is mild; 4 if condition is moderate; 5 if condition is severe).

UC patients admit that they do not report all of their flare-ups to their physicians, making it difficult for physicians to understand the impact of UC on their patients’ lives. One-third (34 percent) said they are sometimes reluctant to tell their doctor about flare-ups.

"If patients are experiencing multiple flare-ups a year, they should feel empowered to talk to their physicians openly about their disease and ask if their current therapy is appropriate for them," says Dr. Rubin. "As physicians, we need to ask questions to encourage patients to be forthcoming and open with us about the challenges they face and the concerns they have."

As a company committed to educating patients and working with physicians, Shire is developing a program that will launch this fall and is designed to help foster increased discussion between physicians and patients about UC and its management.

Low public awareness

Further confounding the challenges for UC patients, their disease is relatively unknown among the general public. According to UC: NORMAL’s survey of a cross section of the general public, 74 percent of Americans have either never heard of UC or have heard of it but know little about it, even though UC’s prevalence approaches the numbers for HIV/AIDS and Parkinson’s in the United States.

More than two-thirds of UC patients report that having UC is embarrassing to them (70 percent) and that they are reluctant to tell people about their condition (66 percent). With low public awareness and this hesitation to talk openly about their UC, feeling isolated is a risk for UC patients.

"This survey highlights the need to raise awareness and engage the public in a discussion about UC," says Richard Geswell, president, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). "There’s a scarcity of data relating to patient experience and opinions of UC and its treatment, so I hope these findings will help bring this disease to the forefront and assist the ulcerative colitis community in identifying areas to focus our efforts."

"Like many other chronic diseases, there’s no medical cure for ulcerative colitis, but with better management of quality of life issues, improved patient communication and by getting patients on effective therapies, we can help patients live more normal, fulfilling and productive lives," concludes Dr. Rubin. "I hope the survey will spark a national dialogue about UC. I know I’ll use it as a conversation starter in my practice."

The surveys were conducted by Richard Day Research and included a total of 1,975 people: 451 UC patients, 300 gastroenterologists, 309 RA patients, 305 asthma patients, 305 migraine patients and 305 adults from the general U.S. population who may have chronic health conditions. All patient surveys and the general public survey were fielded through an online panel that closely reflects the U.S. adult population overall. Physicians were recruited from a list of all board certified gastroenterologists in the U.S. Assuming no sample bias, the margin of error for the sample of 451 UC patients is +/- 5 percent; assuming no sample bias, the margin of error for a sample of 300 (the other surveys) is +/- 6 percent.

For more information about the survey, visit http://www.ucnormal.com/. For more information on ulcerative colitis, visit http://www.managinguc.com/.

Boy is this a pertinent quip from Medical News Today .

In today’s world of very educated patients, most would be insulted if the physician even mentioned anything to do with depression. And yet, the universal presence of depression in the U.S. is phenomenal. Many people do not know that that is their diagnosis though. And therefore, they think that there "must be something wrong with me" - something that enough "tests", enough "diagnostic studies" - enough something - would show. The somatic symptoms of depression are multiple. And it should be considered in most scenarios. AND most patients should not be so resistant to the screening process. This resistance is what keeps physicians from even considering it as a diagnosis.

Providing a voice to an often silent disease, Epocrates, Inc. surveyed 500 clinicians to identify trends in depression diagnosis, prevalence and treatment. People dealing with stress, whether in the workplace or at home, should take note; nearly all clinicians identified stress as the leading contributor to depression.

The majority of clinicians reported seeing an increase in depression in the past five years, and believe this increase may be driven by greater disease awareness, and ultimately more patients seeking help. However, clinicians reported that many more patients may be experiencing symptoms that are going undiagnosed. More than half of survey respondents felt that physicians are hesitant to diagnose depression, primarily due to resistance from patients and lack of societal acceptance. Clinicians also reported uncertainty about diagnosing depression, as patients may present symptoms differently based on gender and ethnicity, or may be a product of another medical illness.

"In today’s digital age, the increasing pressure to get it done yesterday can lead to more stress and potentially depression. Early recognition and intervention are important to prevent the loss of jobs, damage to relationships or suicidal thoughts," said John Luo, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

The vast majority of clinicians reported recommending prescription therapies for their patients experiencing depression. Beyond pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, 60 percent of respondents believe lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise and meditation may also be helpful in treating depression, depending on the patient’s individual situation.

Additional key survey findings include:

– Gender makes a difference when diagnosing depression

– Thirty percent of clinicians reported being less likely to discuss depression with men.

– Clinicians reported it is often more difficult to treat men because they are less "open" than women, and symptoms such as anger or addiction may not be immediately linked to depression.

– Clinicians may be more likely to experience depression

– More than 50 percent of clinicians reported experiencing depression at some point in their lives, which compared to the National Institutes of Health data, could make them more than twice as likely to experience depression as the general public.

– Additionally, 12 percent of clinicians reported missing work because they felt depressed. Clinicians are not alone-a national study revealed that depression is the leading cause of missed work days, and lost productivity due to depression is estimated at $83 billion a year.

For more about depression, including a podcast with UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Luo, clinicians’ comments and comprehensive survey results, please visit http://insights.epocrates.com/depression. Comprehensive dosing and drug interaction information for anti-depressants can also be found at http://www.epocrates.com.

 Another clip from Medical News Today about the number of pills and Daily Adherence to medication. Although it focuses on certain conditions, the issue is applicable to everyone and every condition. Compliance (adherence to instructions) is such a big factor in health success that we all (doctors and patients alike) must pay attention to what will improve a person’s ability to follow the advice/instructions:

New Study Suggests Number Of Pills Not A Factor When It Comes To Daily Adherence To Medication

There is no correlation between the daily number of pills a patient is prescribed to take and how well a patient will adhere to a dosing regimen, suggests a new study presented recently at the 19th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) held in San Diego (April 11-14). The large-scale study looked at patients taking a variety of high blood pressure medicines, specifically calcium channel blockers (CCBs), and provides more supportive evidence that adherence to prescribed medication is influenced by a multitude of factors. The study specifically examined dosing regimen to see if there was a relationship between that factor and adherence in patients with a co-payment of at least $20.

More on Do You Take Your Medicines As Prescribed?