Treatment non-adherence: A challenge to healthcare systems

Abstract

Health care systems are facing numerous challenges and one of them is treatment non-adherence among patients with chronic conditions. Treatment non-adherence among patients with chronic conditions is a complex issue. Research has documented that treatment non-adherence results in an additional utilization of health care facilities that leads to an additional burden on the health care system. There are many things the health care systems can do to enhance adherence and in turn better health outcomes like: identification of risk factors to chronic diseases, awareness of medication adherence and lifestyle modifications among patients with chronic conditions etc. These efforts will benefit the patients as well as health care systems. Research identifying the determinants of treatment non-adherence among patients with chronic conditions will add to the existing literature on non-adherence and will help in the development of specific intervention strategies by health care systems to reduce treatment non-adherence.