[Drug-therapy: misunderstanding and omission, in patientdoctor communication]

Patient-doctor communication is fraught with misunderstanding and omission, especially around the drug therapy. In this article we mobilize health anthropology to illustrate this phenomenon. Beyond the biomedical effect, the drug is also an object of meaning: it objectifies the disease and is appealing but also raising uncertainities. It simultaneously promises a certain autonomy and a dependency on the doctor. Drug prescription also serves as a communication tool between the suffering patient and the caring doctor. If the prescription can be source of disagreement, it could present an opportunity for the doctor to explore the patient's illness representation, and the potential obstacles to negotiated therapeutic adherence between the partners of the therapeutic relationship.