Concordance: a widely used term, but what does it mean?

The term concordance was first used by the Medicines Partnership to describe a new way of consulting with patients in order to gain the most effective use of medicines (Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain 1997). Over recent years, the term has become associated with many different health care interventions. The aim of concordance is to improve satisfaction with the process of health care consultations, having the ultimate goal to reduce wastage of health care resources. Concordance has evolved from terms such as non-compliance and non-adherence and reflects a shift in the culture of health care interventions, aiming to empower patients. Suggestions to the content of concordant consultations are outlined in this article and will be further developed in the second article.