Comprehensive geriatric assessment and medication compliance

Patient compliance is an essential therapeutic factor which is crucial to outcome. There is a recent surge of interest in compliance issues evoked by reliable and feasible measurement methods. In particular, data on real-time dosing facilitate the interpretation of drug effects. This information can be used in patient counseling. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is likely to detect major reasons of non-intentional non-compliance. A medication review should include several questions on patient compliance behavior for which examples are proposed. Systematic geriatric assessment is likely to improve rational prescribing of pharmacotherapy in the elderly. This will also contribute to ensure patients compliance.