Patient compliance: changing patterns of disease and health care costs

Most of the drugs in our therapeutic armamentarium are effective and have contributed significantly to the health of Americans. Whereas patient compliance relating to prescribed medications has always been an issue, the impact of patient compliance--or noncompliance--on health care expenditures has added a new dimension to the controversy. Because of the growth of chronic care, physicians need to prescribe long-term drug therapy that patients will administer themselves. Patients must be motivated to ensure compliance with treatment regimens that health care professionals prescribe or dispense.