Article published on: 15/07/2014
(Adnkronos Salute) – Drugs that are identical in composition can have different colors or shapes, depending on the manufacturer. But these differences represent a potential cause of confusion for patients, so much so as to push some to stop taking necessary medicines: this is evidenced by a study published in the journal 'Annals of Internal Medicine' by researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, after studying the habits of more than 10,000 patients across the country who were hospitalized after a heart attack between 2006 and 2011. And in the first year after such an event, it is imperative that sufferers get adequate beta -blockers and statins to lower cholesterol.
The study found that as patients refill their medications and the color or shape of their pills change, the likelihood that they will stop taking or re-apply increases dramatically: 34% faces this danger when the tablet changes color and the 66% when changing the shape. A phenomenon that could increase the risk of unnecessary complications and also the health care cost, the scientists concluded.
"When you go to the pharmacy to pick up your meds and they give you a circular pink pill instead of an oblong yellow pill, it's a little jarring to the patient's eyes," notes Aaron Kesselheim, a Harvard professor and senior researcher on the study. "You can imagine how this can cause confusion."
Of course, the study has limitations: the researchers evaluated only three classes of drugs taken by heart patients, and did not take into account certain patient information, such as socio-economic status or enrollment in automatic 'refill' programs. of prescriptions, which are very common in the United States, but not in Europe. Overseas, these changes often arise when a pharmacy switches suppliers or a patient starts buying pills online, and suddenly the same cholester drug
