Adherence and Cost Savings in Overactive Bladder

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Take Medications as Directed, Reduce Overall Healthcare Costs

Spend the money on medications now and save close to $4,000 in annual healthcare costs. So says a new study of older adults who regularly refilled prescriptions to treat overactive bladder syndrome.

So says a new study of older adults who regularly refilled prescriptions to treat overactive bladder syndrome. These patients were less likely to incur more costly health-related expenses, such as doctor visits, even if they were also taking medications for other, unrelated health conditions, said Rajesh Balkrishnan, the study's lead author and the Merrell Dow professor of pharmacy at Ohio State University.

With every 10 percent increase in the number of overactive bladder medication prescriptions filled, the researchers saw a 5.6 percent decrease in annual healthcare costs.

During the final year of the three-year study, the people who routinely took their medication saved about $3,700 in overall healthcare costs compared to the participants who didn’t take their medication as prescribed.

The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of Urology.