The Remington Report

Nearly three in five (57 percent) of the seniors polled admit that they forget to take their medications.

Ages 65 and older who use medications, more than half (51 percent) take at least five different prescription drugs regularly and one in four take between 10 and 19 pills each day, according to a new national survey conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of Medco Health Solutions, Inc., which looked at more than 1,000 people.

The survey also found that:

• Furthermore, the more drugs they use, the more likely they are not to remember to take them. Among those using five or more medications, 63 percent say they forget doses; a higher rate as compared to 51 percent among people who take fewer medicines.

• More than one third (34 percent) of seniors using five or more prescription drugs do not feel knowledgeable enough about the drugs they’re prescribed or their potential side effects, and 35 percent are not sure they can name all the medications they use.

• Multiple medication use is also taking its toll on the financial health of America’s seniors. The ability to afford their drugs is the top concern among 40 percent of seniors taking five or more prescription medications daily, followed by their worry over drug side effects (23 percent) and interactions (17 percent). Among those enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan, 37 percent are most concerned about not being able to afford their medications, and almost half (49 percent) want to know how to delay or avoid falling into the donut hole or coverage gap — the phase in which the beneficiary is responsible for the full cost of their drugs.

The survey found 60 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have taken some steps to delay reaching the donut hole, such as using generic medications (76 percent) and asking for free samples from their doctors (39 percent). But just 27 percent use mail order to avoid the donut hole, despite the fact that on average, seniors surveyed estimated that using mail order saved them about $540 a year and 19 percent estimated they saved at least $1,000 annually.