Compliance (or adherence) is a medical term that means the degree to which a patient correctly follows medical advice. Most commonly, it refers to medication, or drug compliance, but may also mean use of medical appliances such as compression stockings, chronic wound A chronic wound is a wound that does not heal in an orderly set of stages and in a predictable amount of time the way most wounds do; wounds that do not heal within three months are often considered chronic. Chronic wounds seem to be detained in one or more of the phases of wound healing. For example, chronic wounds often remain in the care, self-directed physiotherapy exercises, or attending counseling or other courses of therapy. The most effective way for a doctor to improve patient compliance is through a positive physician-patient relationship.
Other factors that increase compliance include:
- Patient feeling ill
- Limitations of patients activities due to disease state
- Written instructions for taking medication
- Acute illness
- Simple treatment schedule
- Short time spent in waiting room
- Physician recommending one change at a time
- Benefits of care outweigh costs
- Peer support
Patients may not accurately report back to health care workers because fear of possible embarrassment, being chastised, or seeming to be ungrateful for a doctor's care.
Causes for poor compliance include:[1]
- Forgetfulness
- Poor rapport with physician
- Few symptoms
- Chronic illness
- Prescription not collected or not dispensed
- Purpose of treatment not clear
- Perceived lack of effect
- Real or perceived side-effects
- Instructions for administration not clear
- Physical difficulty in complying (e.g. opening medicine containers, handling small tablets, swallowing difficulties, travel to place of treatment)
- Unattractive formulation, such as unpleasant taste
- Complicated regimen
- Cost of drugs
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