Humanising Healthcare podcast Series 4 Episode 7 – Why don't people take their medicines

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In this edition:

Episode 7

We invest billions in developing the next generation of medicines and celebrate the scientific breakthroughs that are designed to transform patient care. Yet one of the greatest challenges in healthcare remains far less visible: between 30% and 50% of patients do not take their medicines as prescribed. As a result, even the most effective treatments cannot achieve their intended impact. So how can we ensure that patients truly benefit from advances in medicine?

In this episode, we explore the vital role of health psychology, an often overlooked factor in treatment success. Joined by leading health psychologists Dr Sarah Chapman and Professor John Weinman, we examine how beliefs, trust, communication, and lived experience shape medication-taking behaviour, and why healthcare professionals need the time and support to explain not only what has been prescribed, but why. We are also joined by pharmacist-scientist Dr Ryan McNally, who discusses his research into more personalised approaches to cardiovascular prescribing, using measurable biomarkers to guide treatment decisions - rather than basing this on generalised assumptions about a patient's race or ethnicity. Together, our guests argue that understanding human behaviour is just as important as developing new medicines if we are to improve health outcomes and build more effective healthcare systems.

Resources

 How do we solve a problem like medicines adherence? - The Pharmaceutical Journal

Find out more about CARE's approach to addressing non-adherence | King’s College London

Manasi Nandi

Professor of Integrative Pharmacology and Physiology 

Manasi is a scientist and educator based within the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the extraction of new information from vital signs data, aiding research and clinical decision making, and identifying earlier alerts of disease. She has expertise in medicine discovery and development and the translation of laboratory findings into clinical practice. She is a fellow of the British Pharmacological Society, most recently supporting efforts to embed inclusive principles into the national curriculum. Inclusivity and accessibility are at the core of her teaching and research practice. She is the People and Culture lead for the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, supporting EDI activities at Faculty and College level. She launched the Humanising Healthcare seminar series in 2023.