Medication compliance – or more accurately, non-compliance – remains one of the most overlooked challenges in both human and animal healthcare. Whether it’s a person forgetting their daily medication or a pet owner struggling to apply their dog’s eye drops, the implications are costly, frustrating, and often dangerous.
At the heart of this issue is a simple truth: life gets in the way.
Even the most well-intentioned individuals miss doses, misremember schedules, or apply medications incorrectly. In veterinary medicine, the challenge is compounded by the difficulty of medicating an uncooperative pet, especially when treatments are frequent, like daily eye drops or multi-week oral treatments.
Compliance Is Not About Willpower – It’s About Support
Traditionally, medication adherence has relied on subjective recall. A doctor or vet might ask, “Have you been taking this as prescribed?” and receive a well-meaning but vague “Yes.” But the truth is, even patients and pet owners with the best intentions can fall short – not because they don’t care, but because they aren’t supported.
Most of the tools designed to promote compliance are outdated. In human clinical trials, for example, the leading method of tracking adherence is still a paper notebook. When the supporting systems are a century behind the problem, it’s no surprise compliance rates are low.
The Cost of Non-Compliance
The consequences of poor adherence are severe. In human clinical trials in the US, up to 30% of studies fail due to non-compliance. This delays access to new therapies, drives up costs, and risks the credibility of the results. The same issues play out in veterinary care, where the animal can suffer prolonged illness or deteriorate due to missed doses, often without the pet owner even realising it.
And while the cost of medication can be a barrier, especially in general (non-trial) use cases, the biggest blocker is often psychological and down to fear, frustration, and lack of clarity.
Tech Isn’t the Only Solution — Training Matters Too
While digital tools and platform such as Validose are working to change the game with real-time, behaviour-based adherence tracking, not every solution has to be high-tech.
Sometimes it’s about education and better processes.
Take, for example, the simple act of administering eye drops. Many of us instinctively tilt our heads back and aim – a method that’s been used for decades. But research shows this technique often fails, especially for older adults or pet owners trying to apply drops to a squirming animal. One professional completely changed outcomes just by teaching a better positioning method – no app, no tech, just better training.
Designing for Real Life
Understanding the full lifecycle of treatment – from prescription to administration – is essential. Professionals need to walk through the entire process from a client or patient’s perspective. Would your 82-year-old mother, or a first-time pet owner, be able to follow your instructions confidently? Would they recognise if something wasn’t working?
Compliance isn’t just about data, it’s about empathy.
What Can Professionals Do?
For those in the medical or veterinary field trying to improve compliance, two key takeaways stand out:
- Find ways to collect objective, real-time data. Whether it’s through a digital platform such as Validose or a lower-tech workaround, insight into what’s actually happening outside the clinic is critical.
- Invest in training and empathy. Empower your team to educate clients without overwhelming them. Make sure the path to adherence is clear, accessible, and designed for real-world use, not just ideal scenarios.
As medicine becomes more advanced, the systems supporting adherence must evolve alongside it. Compliance isn’t just a patient problem – it’s an ecosystem problem. Whether you’re treating humans or animals, the solution lies in better tools, better training, and a deeper understanding of behaviour.
