How a new patient learns about Medication Adherence is very important if the patient is going to be successful with their Oral Oncology therapy.
There is an article that caught my eye. It’s really a press release from Xtalks, but it speaks to the point that there’s more to it than first meets the eye.
More to “IT” has to do with almost anything these days. This article is in reference to the communication that has to take place when a person first finds out that they have Diabetes or any of a number of diseases, but I’m using Diabetes as an example because I remember very well from my own experience. My doctor gave me a prescription and sent me out the door. I had questions but they took months to figure out, ask, and get answers to.
Certainly, this is not how all doctors handle it, but many do.
The patient is a bit freaked out at this point and hasn’t formulated any of the several important questions about their newly discovered disease or about the medications they will have to be taking. Often, the discovery is based on a blood test and the patient learns that they’re PRE-diabetic. And they leave the doctor’s office not having a clue what this means. One might ask, “Does this mean that Diabetes is inevitable?” But that doesn’t come to mind while the patient is still in the doctor’s office.
The Doctor is not freaked out. They all have a growing list of diabetic patients so this isn’t a surprise to the doctor. While the doctor knows that this isn’t a death sentence, the patient doesn’t necessarily perceive this immediately.
The communication from XTalks is about New Patient Medication Adherence challenges. When I read this I thought, being new to anything requires a bit of education. A new driver needs to be taught. Learning how to use a computer takes some time. Even just reading a book gets easier as one does it over and over. And in each case there’s a major support role from technology that makes it better, quicker, safer perhaps.
I have been a diabetic for a few years now. I’m still learning what to eat, when to exercise, when to take my meds. But none of these things are automatic or are necessarily routine. As for taking my meds, I use Medtexter to remind me when it’s time. I set the parameters, of course, but I need the reminder so that the meds are the most effective they can be.
BTW, I’m a much better driver having done it for the past few decades. Things get better as we repeat them. Unfortunately, my memory isn’t always as dependable.
