Pivot

I have mentioned in the past that compliance (regularly and completely taking ones' prescribed medication) is the biggest challenge to achieving successful treatment outcomes. In a recent business-related conversation, I heard some interesting and enlightening thoughts about this aforementioned obstacle.  While listening in on a research conversation with a doctor, he mentioned that as a teacher of new doctors, there is a conscious shift away from the use of the word compliance - replacing it now with the term adherence.

To better understand the subtle nuances of this purposeful shift, let's take a quick look at the two often-wrongfully interchanged terms:

Compliance is the action or fact of complying with a wish or command = Conform to and follow

Adherence is the attachment or commitment to a person, cause, or belief = Agree with and follow 

The key medical milestones along the patient journey where compliance (now: adherence) is most often tested are:

- Actually getting the prescription filled (you would be surprised how often ‘scripts’ go unfilled)

- Then taking the medications as directed (the dosing/quantity and administration frequency)

- And finishing the entire amount prescribed (I'm feeling better, I don't need to take them anymore)

For those of us who do comply (I mean - adhere), the thought of not sticking with any of the above could seem puzzling. For those who may have financial, comprehension or perseverance issues - any one of these steps could represent the potential for fall-off.  If nothing else, doctors are realizing that perhaps they need to reinforce a more positive attitude around the significance of encouraging patients to take their prescribed (often life-saving) medications.  Sometimes the variation of a single action-word can make a world of difference.  We can only hope.

PS: I just drove a stick shift for the first time in about 40+ years.  It really is just like riding a bike. Multiple Myeloma hasn’t muted my muscle memory!