The last activity challenged you to consider the word ‘compliance’ and deliberate the potential power connotations associated with the words you may use and how verbal and non-verbal interaction with patients may influence how you are ultimately perceived by patients. This is inextricably linked to why patients do or do not take prescribed treatments, although it is not simply about you as clinician; non-adherence is multi-factorial and is a regularly researched issue. It is expensive in terms of both human cost (poor health outcomes for patients) and in economic terms.

Look at the following example of a documented drug history

Click to view a more complete example of the above drug history.