Noncompliance cuts across all categories of patients and illnesses. People with breast cancer, organ transplants, and hypertension, as well as people on a short course of antibiotics, can all forget to take their medications. Researchers have identified more than 200 variables that affect whether a patient will be compliant, according to Miller. Compliance rates are also likely to decline over time, especially for patients with asymptomatic diseases, she said. It s up to nurses and other healthcare professionals to examine the reasons patients may not be compliant, Schneider said.
Simple forgetfulness can be a big factor in noncompliance.
First, find out for sure. Ask patients whether they ve been taking their medication and, specifically, whether they ve missed any doses in the past week. Then see if family members agree with a patient s self-report. Prescription refill records will also show whether the patient is taking medicine as directed. Judith Kelly, RN, a certified rehabilitation nurse at Roper Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, and chair of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses staff nurses special interest group, always asks her patients to bring in all their medications and tell her what each is for and when it should be taken.