We’re Losing Nearly £1 Billion a Year to Missed Pills—And Homecare Holds the Key
Over £500 million. That’s what the NHS was losing each year to medication non-adherence more than a decade ago. Today, factoring in inflation, higher prescription volumes, and the burden across chronic conditions, that figure could be closer to £1 billion annually.
And yet—this silent crisis still sits on the sidelines of most homecare conversations. While workforce shortages and capacity challenges dominate headlines, the truth is that a huge portion of hospital admissions, falls, and deteriorations in health could be avoided if we simply ensured people took their medicines correctly, every day.
Why Technology—Not Just Talk—Is Needed
Recently, Boris Johnson suggested “ChatGPT is the answer to homecare.” But if AI alone could solve this, Alexa would have already fixed the problem. The reality is that adherence is a behavioural, practical, and accountability challenge. It needs digital tools that are embedded in everyday care—not just clever algorithms.
A mental health team recently admitted: “We don’t want to know if people aren’t taking their meds—because then we’d have to act.” But not acting costs everyone: the NHS, the family, the user, and the economy.
Why It Must Be Solved at Community Level
The NHS 10-Year Plan’s three pillars—prevention, community-based care, and digitally-enabled services—cannot succeed without tackling medication adherence. However the challenges around medication non adherence have to be tackled in the community. This means uniting pharmacies, GPs, care providers, and carers around a shared approach.
Meds on Time’s Digital Medication Adherence Toolkit (D-MAT) is designed for exactly this purpose, with technologies to support people across the care pathway. Introduced early, these tools become the norm—helping people stay independent for longer while freeing up stretched care capacity. All of the tools in the toolkit use the support network so if meds are missed or wrongly taken, supporters can “nudge” the user to a favourable outcome.
The Evidence Is Clear
In one homecare pilot, replacing two daily in-person visits with remote medication monitoring saved 40+ minutes per client, per day, doubling carer capacity from 8–10 to 14–18 clients. Users reported improved self-care, carers reported reduced carer burden, and communication between professionals improved.
The Future of Homecare Starts Here
If we want a sustainable, safe, and person-centred future for homecare, medication adherence must move from afterthought to foundation. We have the tools. We have the evidence. Now we need the will to make it happen.
Priti Patel - Director
