Some of the recent entries at AlignMap In Cites warrant special attention.
- Always vigilant for any glimmer of humor associated with patient compliance, I was delighted to discover this short, funny video promoting adherence to ARVs as essential regardless of whatever else may be going on – including a gunfight. The scenario shown may not pass muster as politically correct, but I have showcased it here in the belief that this kind of public service announcement is more likely than the typical ponderous didactic presentation or scared-straight derivatives to attract an audience and have an impact on the the treatment adherence of those viewers.
- “Cancer-Related Fatigue Awareness Month” is not a name that flows trippingly from the tongue but the concept behind it is profoundly pertinent to compliance. “Between 70 and 100 percent of cancer patients receiving treatment have fatigue … . Up to one-half of all survivors have reported fatigue lasting months or even years after treatment.” (From personal experience and my own reading, I would add that the fatigue factor is likely as high for the caretakers as well.)
- Etiquette-based medicine is a supplement to rather than a substitute for evidence-based medicine and could well enhance compliance with the latter.
- The flip side to etiquette-based medicine is the subject of the New York Times article, Arrogant, Abusive and Disruptive — and a Doctor.
- A new study pushes personalizing the often detached, dehumanized exercise of reading x-rays by routinely adding patient photographs to the digital file of all radiographic examinations.
- A monograph on smart pillboxes and gizmos to magnify the fine print on pill bottles1 contain photos of the latest compliance-enhancing devices on the market.
- The results of a national survey of compliance among Canadian women under treatment for osteoporosis demonstrate the usual surprising severity and pervasiveness of nonadherence,2 even among patients who have experienced first hand the consequences of the unchecked disease. For example, “Only 56% of those who have fractured a bone are more careful about taking their osteoporosis medication as prescribed since their fracture.”
- A study backing the clinical wisdom that alcohol misuse predicts poor medication adherence, another study examining the relationship between blood pressure levels and adherence to medication in patients with chronic heart failure, and an advance look at a study that will systematically explore medication compliance by children.
As always, the 10 most recent posts at AlignMap In Cites are listed at the bottom of the right sidebar of this page under the clever title, AlignMap In Cites Recent Posts.
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