One of the struggles that doctors often face when trying to treat someone is that the patient does not take their prescribed medications as they have been instructed to do. If the doctor has prescribed a medication, there is a reason for doing so. Unfortunately, that’s not always a convincing argument for the person who is supposed to be taking a medication and doesn’t.
This happens for a few reasons. And as you probably could have guessed, it doesn’t happen because patients don’t want to get better. Patients tend to stop taking medications or take them incorrectly because of a lack of adequate physician guidance or because of a fear of the side effects that are associated with the medication. At least, that’s what a new report from the American Heart Association reveals.
Their study looked at the use of statins and whether or not people who were not taking these drugs would benefit from using them. About 26 percent of those who would benefit from statins replied that they were not currently taking these medications. Half of this group (13 percent of the total group) reported that they had never been offered this type of medication. They also found that cardiologists were far more likely to prescribe this medication than general practitioners.
One of the main takeaway that researchers had was that doctors need to be a lot more aware of who would benefit from certain drugs, and then do a better job of communicating their reasoning to the patient.
Statins are a class of medication that are designed to lower LDL levels in the blood. LDL is more commonly known as the “bad” type of cholesterol, and statins have proven to be quite effective in helping those suffering from high cholesterol levels.
High LDL cholesterol levels can create a lot of problems, including heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. If someone finds themselves struggling with the after effects of one of these things, a whole host of issues might be present, including a need for close supervision. Depending on the nature of these needs, you might find yourself really struggling alongside them as you attempt to give them the care and attention that they require.
You might be dealing with this or something similar right now. If so, we want to help. Give us a call or an email if you have questions or concerns that you’d like help with. One of our experts will help you. We offer free consultation services because we believe that this is a great way for you to get pointed toward the care that will help you and your family out the most. Feel free to get in touch so that you can learn how to provide the best possible care that you can find.
Senior care does a lot more than monitor medications, but a good professional caregiver is thoroughly trained in how to do this and ensure that the doctor’s orders are followed precisely. This is one of the many areas that we train our caregivers in. We know that in-home care isn’t for everyone, but for those that are looking for this type of care, be assured that only the very best caregivers will be assisting your elderly loved one when you go with our services.
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