Patient Compliance: A Key Element in the Success or Failure of Treatment

Abstract

The success of a physician-prescribed medication treatment depends largely on patient compliance. Indeed, patient compliance with a medication regime is particularly crucial for chronic disease treatment. The failure of a personal medication protocol often results not from physician misdiagnosis or mistreatment, but from errors and omissions in patient application. This review article discusses patient compliance as a key determinant of treatment success in a broad array of chronic diseases in ranging medical domains: internal diseases, dermatology, orthopedics, endocrinology, dentistry, ophthalmology and others. The review takes a holistic approach in an attempt to reveal the psychological elements that influence patient non-compliance overall in medicine and not specifically in any given domain. Understanding the role of patient compliance in treatment success is crucial, as such compliance is a key parameter in the ability of medication to cure.