This post on the-blog-that-used-to-be-kevin's-blog (alas, Kevin Pho writes rather few posts these days) … is accurate, but I wish that the medical community was saying the same thing. In general – we are not. Patients who have guts will say this – but on the other side of the stethoscope – we continue to use such terms as "noncompliant" and "adherence" on a daily basis – and nobody recognizes how offensive it is. I blogged about this in 2002. Same story today. This is a nomenclature is symptom of a problem – not the problem itself. Care providers who have been taught to expect patients to "comply" are not learning the skills they will need to really help patients meet their treatment goals.
“compliance”
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