Taking your medicine: relational steps to improving patient compliance.
Patient non-compliance with physicians' instructions is a major problem that costs billions of dollars each year. This study supports a significant role for communication, both as a form of information exchange and social support, and participative decision-making in improving patient compliance. These results, based on structural equation modeling, also support the interaction of communication and participative decision-making positively affecting compliance. Results suggest that one-way communication from physician to patient and patient education will not solve compliance problems by themselves. Instead the solution revolves around open, bi-directional information exchange, active listening by both parties, and truly informed consent on the part of patients.
Hausman
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Department of Management, Marketing, and International Business, University of Texas-Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA. hausman@panam.edu
D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010358:Patient Participation; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires