Everyone knows about the rising costs of health care insurance along with how expensive prescription medication can be, especially for senior citizens. But do you ever consider the cost if you don’t take your medication properly?

According to some studies, 125,000 people in the U.S. die every year from failure to properly take the right dosage of their medications, ballooning $100 billion in preventable trips to the emergency room, and repeat visits to the health care system. An alarming statistic says that at least 10% of all hospital admissions are a result of this problem.

Many reasons are to blame for people not taking their drugs properly. Innocently enough, forgetfulness is one of them. However, forgetting can lead to taking the same medications twice, leading to an overdose. Skipping a dose by accident might not seem too worrisome, but in many cases it can be the difference between life, death, and a trip to the hospital. Numerous methods have been conceived to help seniors keep track of their dosages. You can find some of these methods online at [1] assistedlivinginfo.org or you can search for devices that help you organize your pills and remind you when to take them with different alarm systems.

It might seem odd that someone would intentionally disregard the importance of taking medications, and yet, it’s a common occurrence. For example, some people begin to disregard taking their medication when they think they start feeling better prematurely. Sometimes they stop when they perceive the medication to not have the immediate effect they’re looking for.

The reasons for noncompliance can be different from patient to patient, but when people willfully change their dosages, it’s not necessarily a sign of stubbornness, but because they don’t fully understand how the medications work and what the health consequences are when you don’t follow the regimen correctly or discontinue it altogether.

Assisted living marketing services are provided by 800seniors.com a leading referral system in the assisted living industry. For more information, call 1-800-768-8221 or visit [1] assistedlivinginfo.org. Sky Palma is a freelance staff writer.