Noncompliant Patient
Ms. C, 72 years old, has diabetes mellitus, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and coronary artery disease. She lives alone. She recently was discharged from the hospital after treatment for an acute myocardial infarction. She had been doing well before this admission. You are the home health nurse assigned to visit Ms. C. Ms. C’s son tells you he is concerned that his mother will not follow up with all the medications she is supposed to take. He states that she has not been very compliant with treatment in the past.
As the home health nurse, how would you approach Ms. C?
What risk factors might interfere with Ms. C’s plan of care?
What must you evaluate to include in the plan of care?
Sample Solution
Non-compliant Patient
Non-compliant is doctor-shorthand for patients who don’t take their medications or follow medical recommendations. When approaching a non-compliant patient, you must remember that you as the staff member, cannot make a person do anything, your task is not making a person comply, instead, your job is to explain and enforce the consequences of the person’s choice of compliance or noncompliance. Poor compliance can lead to disease complications, avoidable exacerbation and frequent admissions for patients, as well as increasing costs for health systems and the community. Case managers are in unique position to help patients and the system break these barriers and solve problems that hinder compliance.
