The holidays are a time of celebration, where family and friends come together to share traditions, memories, gifts and treats. While the season can be a period of great joy, it can also bring a number of stressors. For some people, travel plans, parties, shopping, and visitors can throw everyday routines into disarray. For others, loneliness, financial hardship, or grief can make it difficult to engage in even the most basic interactions — let alone staying on track with self-care.
Whether positive or negative in nature, holiday-related disruptions to well-established habits can have downstream consequences. For instance, people living with chronic conditions may struggle with medication adherence during this time, especially if they feel emotionally overwhelmed by the demands of the season. Some might even actively decide to take a “drug holiday” with the mistaken belief that a few weeks of medication-free indulgences will help them enjoy themselves more freely without too much long-term harm.
They are likely to be incorrect about that assumption. Poor medication adherence is tied to approximately half of avoidable hospital admissions and at least 125,000 preventable deaths each year in the United States, costing the health system up to $300 billion in direct and indirect costs. Even short breaks from important medications, such as metformin or insulin to manage diabetes, can have disastrous impacts on health, especially when combined with the sweets and feasts in many traditional celebrations.
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The best “gift” for a person with chronic conditions is the emotional support and education needed to stay adherent to medications during the hectic holiday season.
Preparing for a busy time of year with a scaffolding of support
It takes time and practice for people with chronic conditions to learn skills and build habits around positive decision-making, such as learning how to predict, prevent, and control symptoms of their conditions; developing the emotional resilience to cope with temptations or setbacks; or gaining the problem-solving competencies to utilize the healthcare system appropriately. For example, coaches might encourage patients to find a “medication buddy” among their friends or family to help keep them accountable and share the experiences of managing their health. Ideally, patients should be working on these types of skills in collaboration with their holistic care teams all year long via human-centered and digital approaches so that the holidays become just another manageable event in a cycle of continual self-improvement.
It also takes some advanced planning to ensure that patients have an uninterrupted supply of their medications during a time when budgets get tight, and pharmacies and clinics may adjust their operating hours. This could include surfacing available financial assistance options or making sure patients are taking advantage of mail order delivery or 90-day supplies of medications, so they don’t unexpectedly run out while travelling or enjoying festivities.
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Making person-centered assistance available during a stressful time of year
The holidays often bring up a mixture of feelings as people navigate family dynamics or reflect on their own circumstances, and that can quickly lead to emotional overload and/or exacerbation of mental health conditions. In turn, mental health challenges may affect patient decision-making when it comes to medication management.
For example, research shows that people with key markers of emotional distress are less likely to be adherent to their diabetes care, while people with depression are 1.76 times more likely to be non-adherent to medications for any condition than a person without the mental health condition.
It is incumbent upon stakeholders such as providers, health plans, employers, and pharma companies to offer resources that support patients emotionally — as well as clinically — during these intense few months. These organizations should consider how to leverage analytics to identify individuals who may be more vulnerable to emotional stress and mental health conditions, such as those without caregiver support in the home, and offer targeted resources that take a human-first approach to uncovering challenges and implementing personalized solutions to avoid a non-adherence episode.
Jumpstarting a new year with purpose, enthusiasm and emotional stability
The holidays end with the excitement of ringing in the New Year, giving people the chance for a fresh start. For people who may have succumbed to a few medication missteps during December, it’s an opportunity to evaluate what could have gone better and commit to making positive changes in the year ahead.
After the holidays is the perfect time to empower patients to take advantage of the spirit of New Year’s resolutions by doubling down on outreach and communications that encourage a fresh start to medication adherence, with a focus on reviewing education, bolstering emotional capacity for self-care, and establishing good habits that are strong enough to withstand future times of uncertainty and change.
Proactively offering patients these building blocks aimed at powering medication adherence can encourage consistent decision-making throughout the year and ensure patients can maintain good health and avoid unhelpful “drug holidays” — while being fully present for many more celebrations to come.
Photo: izzetugutmen, Getty Images
Dr. Bram Greenberg - a clinical physician with experience in medical communications and the pharmaceutical industry - is Chief Medical Officer at Pleio, where he oversees medical accuracy and regulatory compliance.
Previously, he served in positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc., for 20 years, including as Director and Department Head in Medical Services at Merck, responsible for oversight of the Company’s medical information and communications activities in the U.S. He also oversaw physicians in the medical/regulatory review of Merck programs and materials, helping to ensure medical accuracy and compliance with legal requirements and FDA regulations.
Dr. Greenberg received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, in Computers & Medical Technology from the University of Pennsylvania. He attended medical school at Drexel University College of Medicine and did a residency in Pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College. He holds medical licenses in NJ and PA, and is board‐certified in Pediatrics.
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