How closely what was actually taken matches what the plan said. Adherence covers doses missed, doses taken at the wrong time, and stopping earlier than intended. In trials it is measured and reported; outside them it is usually estimated by the person themselves, which tends to be generous.

Why it matters here

A large share of the gap between a trial result and a real-world result is adherence rather than biology, and a compound that works only when taken as studied will underperform for anyone who does not manage that. When a programme fails to produce the reported effect, adherence is the first thing worth checking, ahead of dose, source or timing.

Also called

• adherence
• adherance
• compliance
• non-compliance
• consistency
• staying consistent
• sticking to it
• missed dose
• missed doses
• skipped dose
• drop off
• discontinuation
• fell off

Compliance is the older clinical word and still appears in papers, though it has fallen out of favour for implying that the patient follows orders. Consistency is the everyday version of the same idea.

Compounds carrying this term

None on file yet. This term is in the controlled vocabulary but no compound record currently uses it — which is a statement about our coverage, not about the term.

See also

• Dosing Protocol — Dosing and scheduling
• Frequency — Dosing and scheduling
• Fat Loss — Reported Outcome
• human_rct — Evidence Tier