Compliance and noncompliance in asthma

Compliance and noncompliance are big issues in asthma management. It has been well established that compliant patients experience less exacerbations than less compliant patients and that compliance rates often are <50%. The reasons for noncompliance are multiple and complex and not always clearly understood. Methods proposed to improve compliance include patient education, more partnership care, less frequent dosing, simple schedules, diaries, etc. Less dosing and simple schedules are most effective. It is difficult to improve compliance overall and despite extensive research and efforts, rates of compliance remain low. Noncompliance in asthma management is a fact of life and no single compliance-improving strategy probably will be as effective as a good physician-patient relationship.