Patient nonadherence is one of the major clinical problems in primary care settings. Patients who deviate from treatment, or completely discontinue therapy, expose themselves to deterioration of health, additional costs and sometimes even death. Despite that facts, on average, one in every two patients, suffering from chronic disease, does not follow therapeutic recommendations. Unexpectedly, similar is true with acute symptomatic diseases, such as infections. Patient nonadherence is associated with more frequent visits to the doctors, higher number of complications, and therapy ineffectiveness. Fortunately, poor adherence can be effectively prevented. This paper provides comprehensive review of reasons and consequences of nonadherence, as well as methods that family doctors can use in order to improve adherence to therapy in their patients
