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How to improve treatment adherence and the quality of doctor-patient collaboration?

16 December 2022

A good doctor-patient relationship is a very important part of treatment, especially for chronic diseases. Previous studies conducted by the World Health Organisation indicate that, on average, one in two patients does not properly follow therapeutic recommendations. In Poland, this percentage is even higher, reaching more than 70% for some diseases. Importantly, these results are based primarily on patient declarations obtained on the basis of questionnaire-based survey tools, so in practice the proportion of patients not correctly complying may be even higher. The reasons for this phenomenon lie with both patients and healthcare professionals. Patients are most affected by psychological and socio-economic factors. The former include primarily cognitive functioning, life satisfaction, personality, sense of control and psychological state. The second group is primarily related to material situation, but - as cyclical studies in the Polish population show - the influence of income on adherence to therapeutic recommendations is decreasing year by year. Reasons related to medical care include, above all, inadequate communication with the doctor and failure to involve the patient in setting the treatment plan. The results of research to date show how important the quality of the doctor-patient relationship is for adherence to therapeutic recommendations. Healthcare professionals should get to know the patient and adapt the treatment process to the patient's needs and abilities. Improved cooperation can be achieved through motivational dialogue and by involving the patient in setting the therapy plan.

https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/256024/wasik_siwek_et- al_compliance_with_therapeutic_recommendations_2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y