If has long been a concern of doctors and pharmacists that between 30-50% of medicines that are prescribed are not taken properly. There are many reasons why this might be the case, but the bottom line is that your medicines are not going to work if you don’t take them!

Since around 15 million people in England currently take medicines for long-term conditions like asthma or high blood pressure that’s a lot of medicines going to waste, and pressure put on the NHS from illnesses which are not being treated effectively.

This is why your pharmacist might ask you if you would like a medicines use review (MUR) next time you go to the pharmacy for your repeat prescription. This is intended to be a short 15 minute conversation to establish that you are taking your medicines properly, help identify any problems you may have such as unexpected side effects, and suggest possible solutions.

It’s good to talk!