EDITORIAL - Compliance is futile but is concordance between rheumatology patients and health professionals attainable?

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Rheumatology 2006 45(1):1-5; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kei223

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EDITORIAL

'Compliance' is futile but is 'concordance' between rheumatology patients

and health professionals attainable?

G. J. Treharne1,2, A. C. Lyons3, E. D. Hale2, K. M. J. 2 and G. D.

Kitas1,2

1 School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 2 Department

of Rheumatology, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Dudley, UK and 3

School of Psychology, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

The extent to which patients take prescribed medications 'as directed' and

why they do not have been important issues in health research for many

decades [1] and subject to recent review [2-6]. These issues are important

in rheumatic diseases, given the primary reliance upon medication to control

symptoms and improve patients' functional ability and longevity [7]. Not

taking required medications can therefore have both a personal health impact

and health-economics consequences [3]. In recent years patients have shown

increased interest in their health-care; this is partially due to a boom in

access to information technology coupled with increased health coverage in

traditional media sources [8]. A fresh approach to medication prescribing is

required, one that evolves away from the paternalistic approach of patient

compliance or adherence towards the more recently introduced philosophy of

patient-professional concordance.

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The rest of the editorial is here:

http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/45/1/1

Not an MD