Practical Ways to Improve Patient Adherence - Paperback

by Steven R. Feldman MD Phd (Author), Daniel J. Lewis MD (Author)

Physicians prescribe medications, but patients do not always use them. While it would be easy for us to blame patients for treatment failures, we can do more to motivate them to use their medications as we have recommended. Perhaps we can provide better care to our patients simply by encouraging them to use the medications we already have than we can by developing new ones. We may even be able to clear them of their skin disease by administering therapies they have already tried-but did not use consistently or correctly-without needing to resort to riskier or more expensive therapies.

This is not a theoretical tome; it is an easy-to-read, entertaining look at the many steps we can use to encourage patients to use their medications. Practical Ways to Improve Patient Adherence is an excellent resource for physicians and allied health professionals whose patients exhibit poor adherence. Daniel J. Lewis, M.D. and experienced adherence researcher Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D. examine the problem of poor adherence in dermatology and offer concrete techniques to improve adherence.

The book offers novel, potent ways to get patients to use their medications and improve treatment outcomes-tools healthcare providers can use day in and day out. A medical education is not complete without a thorough understanding of the hurdles that contribute to poor adherence and what we as health professionals can and should do about it.
Please visit www.patientadherencemd.com for more information.

Author Biography

Daniel J. Lewis is a resident physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a future dermatology resident physician at the University of Pennsylvania. Dan earned a B.A. in Biology, magna cum laude, at the University of Pennsylvania and his M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He has authored over 50 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, JAMA Dermatology, Journal of Investigative Dermatology, and British Journal of Dermatology. His chief professional interests are cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and psoriasis. Dan also works as a professional sports journalist and has written over 80 articles for Yahoo! Sports, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation (www.DanielLewisSports.com). He also founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of The Penn Sport Report. Dan is also Founder and Co-President of Fitness for Life, a community service organization based in Philadelphia that seeks to combat the growing obesity epidemic in the United States by empowering children to live healthy lives.

Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Dermatology, Pathology, and Social Sciences & Health Policy and Director of the Center for Dermatology Research at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Feldman has been ranked by ExpertScape as one of the top-five worldwide experts in psoriasis, acne, dermatitis, and patient adherence. He has served as a member of the medical board of the National Psoriasis Foundation, chaired that board's subcommittee on education, and served as Director of the Foundation's Chief Residents' Meeting on psoriasis treatment. He has also chaired the American Academy of Dermatology's Psoriasis Education Initiative Workgroup. He is the founder of www.DrScore.com and Chief Science Officer of Causa Research. He serves as the editor of or an editorial board member for five dermatology journals and is the author of Compartments: How the Brightest, Best Trained, and Most Caring People Can Make Judgments That Are Completely and Utterly Wrong. He is also the curator of www.PromisedLandMuseum.org, The Jewish Museum of the Palestinian Experience.