The dangers of taking medicines incorrectly The health care community has a name for taking medicines properly. Not taking your medicines correctly may cause your illness to continue, to come back or to become more severe. It also sometimes can result in death.
Noncompliance takes many forms.
One is not filling the prescription in the first place. Some patients may never fill the prescription because they may disagree with their doctor's diagnosis or because they cannot afford the medicine. Or they may believe they will get better without taking the prescribed medicine. Other patients may try to save money by taking the medicine less often than prescribed. Forgetting to take a pill or two is common.