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As many as 125,000 deaths a year and up to 20% of all hospital and nursing home admissions each year can be attributed to patient non-compliance, according to a recent pharmacy industry report.

According to “Pharmaceutical Patient Compliance and Disease Management,” a report from Cutting Edge Information, 70% of all medical prescriptions are not consumed, leading to $77 billion in excess healthcare costs each year. Furthermore, treatment failures or new medical problem result from improper outpatient use of medications prescribed to 40% of patients.

To improve compliance, manage patient conditions over time, improve health outcomes and lower costs, some pharmaceutical companies are establishing tools such as interactive Web sites for patients to track their medication use and doctor visits, the reports authors state.

“Pharmaceutical Patient Compliance and Disease Management” is available at http://www.PharmaDiseaseManagement.com.