By Olivier Babeau (president of the Institut Sapiens, columnist for “Les Echos”)
Posted 24 Feb. 2023 at 10:00Updated 24 Feb. 2023 at 10:04
Covid-19 has put health back at the forefront of public debate. Grenelle de la santé, Rist bill or even progress on the delegation of tasks: the shortcomings of our system revealed by the pandemic are finally the subject of specific actions. One of them nevertheless continues to be absent from these reflections: that of non-adherence to treatment.
It concerns nearly 60% of chronic patients in France. Its health and economic consequences are heavy. A non-adherent patient – that is to say, who only observes his treatment at less than 80% – multiplies his risk of relapse, premature mortality and complications. According to estimates, this phenomenon would be responsible for around 12,000 avoidable deaths and 100,000 hospitalizations per year, for an additional cost estimated at 9 billion euros in France. At European level, an estimated 200,000 early deaths are attributable to non-membership, for a loss of between 80 and 125 billion euros. This would lead to a waste of 470 billion euros in the world, or 8% of total health expenditure.
