title: Treatment compliance in chronic illness: Current situation and future perspectives.
abstract: Long-term chronic diseases have a high mortality rate around the world, affecting both genders equally. Despite improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of various health problems, lack of treatment compliance remains an obstacle to improving health and patient quality of life, and it carries a high associated socio-healthcare cost. The objectives of this study were to develop the concept of «therapeutic adherence», which includes both pharmacological compliance as well as non-pharmacological (level of agreement and patient involvement, lifestyle changes, etc.) treatments. The study also aimed to establish the clinical and socio-health impact of non-compliance, the reasons for non-compliance, and methods and strategies to improve compliance. The results of this study support therapeutic adherence as an essential goal of the healthcare system that encompasses all stakeholders involved in patient health.
authors.affiliation: Ex-presidente SEMI, Secretario General de la Federación Europea de Medicina Interna (EFIM), Jefe de Sección de Medicina Interna, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, España. Electronic address: pconthe.hgugm@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Conthe
authors.affiliation: Secretario y Coordinador del grupo de Adherencia e inercia terapéutica de la Sociedad Española de Hipertensión-Liga Española para la lucha contra la hipertensión arterial -SEHLelha.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Márquez Contreras
authors.affiliation: Secretaria General del Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Farmacéuticos-CGCOF.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aliaga Pérez
authors.affiliation: Vocal del Foro Español de Pacientes y Presidenta del Grupo Español de Pacientes con Cáncer-GEPAC.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barragán García
authors.affiliation: Médico de familia, Miembro del Grupo de Trabajo de Gestión del Medicamento y Seguridad del Paciente de la Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria SEMERGEN.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Fernández de Cano Martín
authors.affiliation: Presidente del Consejo General de Enfermería de España, Profesor Titular de Universidad, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González Jurado
authors.affiliation: Unidad Clínica de Medicina Interna (UCAMI), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ollero Baturone
authors.affiliation: Catedrático de Economía, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pinto
keywords: Adherencia terapéutica; Chronic disease; Clinical and health-social impact; Enfermedad crónica; Impacto clínico-sociosanitario; Incumplimiento; Non-compliance; Therapeutic adherence