Patient’s Drug Adherence, Affected by Difference of Pill Color

Most generic drugs are usually biologically linked to their brand-name counterparts but their physical characteristics like shape or color usually makes a different. Those who take generic drugs that have different colors have 50% chance of stopping their medicine intake. This can lead to negative reactions says significant sources.

Studies were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study looked on patients who are taking antiepileptic medications and watched the possibilities that patients who didn’t have refills of their prescriptions have actually been taking pills with different shapes or colors from their earlier prescriptions.

"Pill appearance has long been suspected to be linked to medication adherence, yet this is the first empirical analysis that we know of that directly links pills' physical characteristics to patients' adherence behavior. We found that changes in pill color significantly increase the odds that patients will stop taking their drugs as prescribed," says Dr. Aaron S. Kesselheim, the head of the study.

Researchers made us of a large national database of filled prescriptions. They discovered a certain gap in a patient’s intake of a certain medication which made them review the previous prescriptions. They also checked the appearance or the looks of that particular medication. Collectively, they have found out that gaps in the prescription filling usually happen more commonly when pills appear in different color.  Of all the patients, almost 11, 500 patients quit getting their prescriptions, 27% of the subjects with non-epilepsy drug prescriptions also stopped their prescriptions and 53% having epilepsy also stopped their medications.

Visit this site for more information.

If you stop taking an antiepileptic medication, in just two days, your risk of having seizure attacks will really take its toll.

"Patients should be aware that their pills may change color and shape, but that even differently-appearing generic drugs are approved by the FDA as being bioequivalent to their brand-name counterparts and are safe to take.  Physicians should be aware that changes in pill appearance might explain their patients' non-adherence. Finally, pharmacists should make a point to tell patients about the change in color and shape when they change generic suppliers," concludes Kasselheim.

Experts made a point that adhering to medicine schedule can be a complex issue. But, they said that making an effort to allow or even require resemblance in the appearance of pills of all brand names and generic drugs could really help patients in keeping up with their medication regimen.

Go to https://www.facebook.com/HootanMelamedPharmd for more information.