Patient compliance--don't count on it!

Patient non-compliance which is a well recognized although poorly understood phenomena that affects patients in all areas of health care. A recent public health study reports that patient non-compliance to medical therapy is responsible for 125,000 deaths each year, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and millions of lost workdays. In the contact lens field, patient non-compliance is known to be a causitive factor in the development of contact lens related ocular infections that frequently result in permanently lost vision. This article reviews our current knowledge concerning patient non-compliance and the factors that are felt to be associated with it. It also describes the health belief model and discusses some of the reasons patients are non-compliant. In addition, methods that may be beneficial in improving compliance are discussed.