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Is the new professionalism and ACP's new ethics really just about following guidelines?

The Charter ( Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium.A Physician's Charter) did not deal with just the important relationship of ...

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Breakthrough govt.study-patients don't always take their meds

A report is out regarding a government study that demonstrated patients do not always take their medications as they should.Earlier work has suggested they do not always eat their vegetables. Not only do patients fail to take their medications regularly , they often take them incorrectly and stop medications that are supposed to be long term treatment, take them with food when they shouldn't and take them on a empty stomach when they should take them with food. There are even reports of patients not filling their prescriptions at all.

Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality , in announcing the results of the trial proposes an "in your face" campaign . Help seems to be on the way.

The success of previous government educational programs is the stuff of legends. Drunk driving,teenage sex, teenage use of drugs, to name just a few, have all been virtually eliminated.
Public Services Announcements have resulted in highways free of litter and it has become nearly impossible to find someone who does not floss or use sunscreen or a pregnant woman who smokes or drinks alcohol.A campaign to urge or cajole everyone to take their medications correctly will likely have similar impact.

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