In a new study published in the journal JAMA Dermatology, researchers from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that 27 percent of patients surveyed indicated that they had not filled their prescription.
The study, which surveyed a total of 143 patients, cited prior research would suggested that this type of non-adherence to acne treatment runs at roughly 10 percent.
Primary adherence was a phrase used in the study to depict whether a patient had collected their pharmacy treatments in the first place or whether they had used them once they had collected them.
The study’s author Dr. Steven Feldmen, a professor of dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center locaed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was quoted by Philly in a report as having said in a statement, “Non-adherence is a pervasive problem in all of medicine, particularly when treating chronic conditions such as acne” and that his colleagues were “surprised” to find more than twice the percentage rate of non-adherence as found in the previous study.
Non-adherence is a pervasive problem in all of medicine, particularly when treating chronic conditions such as acne […] A previous study reported a 10 percent primary non-adherence rate for acne patients, so we were surprised that what we found was more than twice that
Patients in the recent study who were prescribed two acne medications were the most likely to not obtain or use a medication; 40 percent in total fell into this category. On the other hand, Medical News Today reported that 31 percent of those prescribed three or more medications obtained or used their medication while only 9 percent of those prescribed a single medication failed to adhere to the advice of dermatologists.
Researchers behind the small acne study did not examine why patients did not fill their prescriptions, however, participants cited cost, forgetfulness, already having similar medications and not agreeing with the prescribed treatment as reasons why their prescriptions remained unfilled.
In an unrelated study, researchers found men prefer women with a particular curve. The researchers from the University of Texas determined that men prefer women with a 45.5 degree curve from back to buttocks, as it allows women to be support, provide for, and carry out multiple pregnancies.
Why do you think researchers in the recent acne study found such a high percentage of patients that didn’t fill or use their acne prescriptions?
