Adherence

Wherever I go, whoever I talk to there seems to be no consistent or very successful strategies for dealing with poor patient adherence/compliance.

By Michael Holden on Jan 20, 2009

Wherever I go, whoever I talk to there seems to be no consistent or very successful strategies for dealing with poor patient adherence/compliance. The industry spends a fortune chasing new patients but rarely have successful (or any) cohesive or targeted strategies for making sure that patients already on their drugs keep taking them as intended.

For years studies repeatedly tell us that over 50% of patients are not compliant/adherent with their regime. Information leaflets will not change patients' behaviours, only effectively delivered face-to-face coaching will do so and this requires good quality training on and practice of the skills to deliver behavioural change plus an understanding of the complex mindset of a non-adherent patient. NICE are about to publish their Concordance Guidance - hands up those who understand concordance!

Which healthcare professional (HCP) sees a patient the most and is best placed to influence this? - pharmacists in both secondary and primary (community) care environments. Yet these are HCPs often avoided by the industry or if they are called on, the interaction rarely offers any benefit for either party - something that should be addressed through an effective pharmacy strategy.