Omnicell Comments On Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s Announcementto Help Tackle Medication Non- Adherence
Paul O’Hanlon, Managing Director for UK & Ireland, Omnicell UK comments; “We welcome the announcement from Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt this morning to bring in a new initiative to help tackle medication adherence rates in the UK by displaying the cost of NHS medicines on packaging.
Here at Omnicell, we have been extremely concerned for many years about the scale of medication non-adherence, not just in the UK but as a wider global health issue and problem. It is estimated that a startling 50% of patients do not take their medication correctly, severely compromising the effectiveness of their treatment and contributing to waste costing the NHS millions of pounds every year.
In the EU alone, nearly 200,0001 deaths occur annually due to missed doses of medication. However the real travesty is that much can be done to improve adherence rates by using adherence packaging solutions and innovative technology. It is now widely accepted within the healthcare community that medication adherence is key to delivering cost-efficiencies and, more importantly, better clinical outcomes. Let’s not forget that behind the statistics and news headlines, we are talking about patient lives and family tragedies that could be avoided by adherence solutions and integrated healthcare initiatives.”
