Taking your medicine: relational steps to improving patient compliance.

Patient non-compliance with physicians' instructions is a major problem that costs billions of dollars each year. This study supports a significant role for communication, both as a form of information exchange and social support, and participative decision-making in improving patient compliance. These results, based on structural equation modeling, also support the interaction of communication and participative decision-making positively affecting compliance. Results suggest that one-way communication from physician to patient and patient education will not solve compliance problems by themselves. Instead the solution revolves around open, bi-directional information exchange, active listening by both parties, and truly informed consent on the part of patients.