Third Annual “Take Your Medicines America” Campaign Launches to Fight $290 Billion Health Care Problem

50 Percent of the Two Billion Prescriptions Filled Each Year are not Taken Correctly

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pharmacists Planning Services, Inc. (PPSI) to launch 3^rd Annual “Take Your Medicines America” campaign from October 10-16, 2011. This nationally recognized campaign is designed to help combat one of the greatest issues facing the American health care system today – medication nonadherence, which accounts for almost 10 percent of the national health care budget.

“The impact of medication nonadherence is staggering,” said Aglaia Panos, PharmD, Vice President Student Pharmacist Development, Pharmacists Planning Services, Inc. “The cost to the American health care system exceeds $290 billion annually. With more and more Americans taking a plethora of medications to fight their chronic conditions, it’s imperative that patients, physicians and pharmacists all work together to ensure medications are taken properly and as prescribed, which will result in a better health outcome.”

Statistics show that nearly 3 out of 4 Americans don’t take their medications as directed and that approximately 125,000 Americans die each year because they fail to take their medications at the prescribed times.

During the week of the campaign, PPSI will actively encourage:

• Patients to talk to their pharmacist regarding their medications
• Patients to request from their pharmacist a wallet-sized “My Medicines” brochure. Medications can written down on this pamphlet and carried by the patient at all times
• Pharmacists to take a more active role by taking time to consult with each patient
• Pharmacists to have the “My Medicines” pamphlets on hand for all patients. Pharmacists can receive these materials from the FDA or www.ScriptYourFuture.org

“There are many reasons people, especially seniors, fail to comply with a proper medication regimen,” continued Panos. “Issues such as impaired vision and hearing play a key role in nonadherence as well as the fact that people with chronic diseases see multiple physicians and use multiple pharmacies to fill their prescriptions. We could help eradicate this problem if patients obtained all medications from the same pharmacy.”