Following a doctor’s instructions about medication prescriptions can be crucial to mind health.

Many drugs prescribed for physical illnesses can cause mental side effects, and drugs for depression and memory loss need to be taken properly for the best results and fewest side effects.

Research indicates that patients do not fill 30 percent of their prescriptions, and about 50 percent of patients fail to follow medication instructions.

Some older patients suffer from memory loss yet typically take a dozen or more medications each year.

For other patients, concern about side effects, confusion about instructions, and worries about drug costs lead to non-adherence.

In a study of 1,000 patients, University of Pennsylvania researchers demonstrated improved medication compliance through the use of electronic pill bottles that light up and beep if patients forget their dose.

If the patient continues to skip doses, the devices notify a designated relative or friend and the doctor.

Such a simple technology offers a potential strategy to avoid medication errors that lead to considerable mind health problems, especially in older adults.