Position paper on Adherence and Concordance - Final round of consultations (Deadline 12 March 2015)
“Drugs don't work in patients who don't take them”, (Former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, attributed)
Self-management by patients is a key element of patient-centred chronic disease care. Non-adherence can mean for example not taking the prescribed medicine at all; taking a different dose than prescribed, or at different times; taking the medicine irregularly; or stopping the course early.
Non-adherence carries enormous costs, not only to patients but also to the health systems.
Objectives of the consultation
With this consultation, EPF wishes to:
- Define and agree on an EPF terminology on “adherence” and “concordance”
- Understand the level of priority that is given to adherence in Europe
- Consult with you on the reasons for non-adherence in your disease area / country
- Define what information is needed on medicines or more generally during the “patient journey” to support adherence
- Draft recommendations for decision-makers, health professionals and patient organisations on how to improve adherence.
Last round of consultation: this is the second and last round of consultation to our membership. Please note we have integrated the feedback and comments received from our members in January 2015.
For comments and questions, please contact our Senior Policy Advisor Kaisa (kaisa.immonen.charalambous@eu-patient.eu).
Thank you!