Practical Ways to Improve Patient Adherence

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.

Daniel J. Lewis, M.D. is the Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology Fellow at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lewis earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, earned his M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine, and completed his internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He then returned to Penn for four years of dermatology residency, including a one-year cutaneous oncology fellowship while also serving as chief resident in his final year.

Dr. Lewis has authored over 75 manuscripts in journals such as Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, JAMA Dermatology, and Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He is an aspiring leader in cutaneous oncology and was named Post-Doctoral Trainee of the Year in 2022 by ADEN, winner of the 2022 ASDS Young Investigators Writing Competition, and a Rising Scholar by the Dermatology Foundation. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.

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. Dr. Feldman is 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 and served as Director of the Foundation's Chief Residents' Meeting on psoriasis treatment.

Dr. Feldman is also the founder of DrScore 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 Promised Land Museum, The Jewish Museum of the Palestinian Experience.