As health care leaders and governmental policymakers look for ways to decrease health care costs, one opportunity may be reducing medication misuse.   The IMS institute for Healthcare Informatics published a report claiming $200 billion was lost last year alone in medication misuse. Areas of misuse included delayed evidence-based treatment, misuse of antibiotics, medication errors, suboptimal use of generics, and polypharmacy in older adults. Further, patients contributed to this cost by not adhering to physician advice, causing > $100 billion in avoidable costs. Two strategies identified to improve safety and appropriateness of medication use: consistent focus on high risk patients and partnering with patients and pharmacists.