In medicine, patient compliance (also adherence, capacitance) describes the degree to which a person correctly follows medical advice. Most commonly, it refers to medication or drug compliance, but it can also apply to other situations such as medical device use, self care, self-directed exercises, therapy sessions, or medical follow-up visits. Both patient and health-care provider affect compliance, and a positive physician-patient relationship is the most important factor in improving compliance. Access to care plays a role in patient adherence, whereby greater wait times to access care contributing to greater absenteeism. The cost of prescription medication and potential side effects also play a role.
Compliance can be confused with concordance, which is the process by which a patient and clinician make decisions together about treatment.