Do you know about 80% of patient are non-compliant !!! What is Compliance !!!

In medicine, compliance (also adherence or capacitance) describes the degree to which a patient correctly follows medical advice. Most commonly, it refers to medication or drug compliance, but it can also apply to other situations such as medical device use, self-care, self-directed exercises, or therapy sessions. Both the patient and the health-care provider affect compliance, and a positive physician-patient relationship is the most important factor in improving compliance although the high cost of prescription medication also plays a major role.

Compliance is commonly confused with concordance. Concordance is the process by which a patient and clinician make decisions together about treatment.
The concept of ‘compliance’ is notoriously difficult to measure. However it is estimated that up to 80% of patients may be ‘non-compliant’ in taking their medicines, although there is significant variation between patient groups and types of illness (Carter and Taylor, 2003).
Worldwide, non-compliance is a major obstacle to the effective delivery of health care. Estimates from the World Health Organization (2003) indicate that only about 50% of patients with chronic diseases living in developed countries follow treatment recommendations.
Compliance can be described as unintentional (where the patient simply forgot to take a prescribed medicine) or intentional (where the patient consciously decides not to). In the latter case in particular, causes of non-compliance are complex.
Major barriers to compliance are:
 -thought to include the complexity of modern medication regimens,
– poor “health literacy” and
– lack of comprehension of treatment benefits,
– the occurrence of undiscussed side effects,
– the cost of prescription medicine, and
– poor communication or
– lack of trust between the patient and his or her health-care provider.
However, elderly patients are more likely than average members of the overall population to:

-live alone

-have a lower literacy level than other age groups

-take multiple medicines with high dose frequencies

-have decreased dexterity and/or cognitive functioning
– more than one-third of people with poor or very poor health had literary skills of Entry Level 3 or below
– Young adults may stop taking their medication in order to fit in with their friends, or because they deny their illness