[Compliance in psychiatry]

In the first place for economic reasons the compliance is a great problem in all branches of clinical medicine. In psychiatric patients the compliance is lower than in somatically ill patients. It plays an important role especially in severe psychotic disorders, e.g. in affective and schizophrenic disorders. The low compliance in schizophrenia is associated with a higher risk of relapses, which have an unfavourable influence on the course of illness. Compliance can be improved mainly by influencing the factors associated with the treatment. The doctors can choose the optimal drug on the base of their knowledge about psychopharmacotherapeutic possibilities and information about patient. Nowadays we have at our disposal atypical antipsychotics, which are subjectively better tolerated and are available in different formulations. In comparison with typical antipsychotics there are advantages especially with long-term treatment.