What are Treatment Adherence and Persistency among patients with mental illness?
Treatment adherence and persistency refer to a patient's ability and willingness to take medications as prescribed and to remain on treatment. There are many reasons why patients may not take their medications as prescribed. Some of the most common factors include the possibility that the patient:
- does not understand why the medication must be taken
- is too ill to take medications reliably and has no family member who can help
- can’t afford the medication and therefore doesn’t refill the prescription
- does not return to the treatment center and cannot be located
- is prescribed a new medication in the hospital and is confused after discharge about whether the new treatment was intended to replace or be taken in addition to the previous therapy
- feels so much better that he or she believes medication is no longer needed
- cannot tolerate the side effects
- is stigmatized by the need to take “psychiatric drugs”
- misses the symptoms of the illness; for example, when auditory hallucinations (such as voices) become comforting or familiar
- lacks the insight to understand that he or she is ill
- does not believe the medication works
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