References
Owner compliance in veterinary practice: recommendations from a roundtable discussion
Abstract
Many factors influence the success of a course of treatment prescribed by a veterinary surgeon. Even if the correct diagnosis is made and the most effective treatment prescribed, the therapeutic outcome may not be optimal if the owner does not administer the medication as prescribed. Some pet owners will give all the medication prescribed for their pets at the correct time intervals. Others may miss doses, give doses at the wrong time, and/or stop treatment prematurely. There is much in the human literature relevant to medication compliance (also termed adherence and occasionally concordance) but much less in the veterinary literature. There are various problems that arise if medication is not administered as prescribed — not the least of which is suboptimal response to treatment. It is therefore important that veterinarians are aware that owners may not follow their directions, the reasons why this may be the case and the potential consequences. By understanding more about these factors we can work to put in place strategies to improve compliance/adherence. The purpose of this roundtable was to discuss many of these aspects including what term is most appropriate to use in the veterinary context.
The term compliance is familar to all in veterinary practice, but its meaning is somewhat ambiguous. As such, it is understandable that veterinary surgeons may struggle to engage with the subject of owner compliance despite it being an issue that profoundly impacts the health and welfare of their patients. The round-table discussion outlined below was held on 18 March to discuss and investigate the ongoing dilemmas of what is meant by owner compliance, and how to achieve good owner compliance with both acute and chronic treatment protocols as well as long-term preventative regimens prescribed by veterinary surgeons for cats and dogs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that only 50% of human patients comply with treatment recommendations (WHO, 2003). Owner compliance is less well studied in veterinary medicine and investigations are less robust; however, similar trends of low rates of owner compliance have been identified (Barter et al, 1996a,b; Grave and Tanem, 1999; Amberg-Alraun, 2003, 2004; Adams et al, 2005; Booth et al, 2021). The practical challenges are well recognised; the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) have developed an ‘easy to give’ campaign to encourage the production of more suitable feline medicines and manufacturers are being increasingly creative in developing formulations that are better accepted by pets (ISFM, n.d.). Owner compliance is a day-to-day problem for veterinary surgeons in practice and this document aims to define the challenges faced in practice and propose concepts and mechanisms by which compliance may be improved.
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