This is not that surprising to me and at all contradictory. As an example, if you are a doctor you may advise someone taking exactly 2 pills at a time exactly

This is not that surprising to me and at all contradictory. As an example, if you are a doctor you may advise someone taking exactly 2 pills at a time exactly 12 hours apart. This is not because 12 hours is magic - but because you want to make sure the patient isn't going days without them or taking them all in one sitting. Someone who knows the actual (marginal) downsides will not be as bothered by the strict rules. I think perhaps the article comes from the opinion it is surprising doctors don't follow the advice 100% of the time, but for more clear context the difference between doctors and everyone else is actually pretty small. >Overall, the research shows that the rest of the population adheres to general medication guidelines 54.4 percent of the time, while doctors and their families lag 3.8 percentage points behind that.