Compliance with pulmonary medication in general practice

We wanted to assess compliance with regular pulmonary medication, in 156 patients in a general practice setting. Patients completed a questionnaire on their reported daily intake, the perceived prescription, and their self-assessed perceived compliance with pulmonary medication. Compliance was defined as a reported daily intake > or = 50% of the prescribed amount. Using this definition, 30% of patients were considered to be compliant. Compliant patients had daily symptoms more often, were more often prescribed two or more different medications, and a greater proportion of them had at some time consulted a chest physician. When patients correctly perceived the prescription to refer to medication which had to be taken on a regular basis, they were more likely to be compliant.…