Adherence to Treatment in IBD Patients

Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are chronic diseases with a relapsing-remitting course that require long-term treatment, not only to induce remission, but also to prevent relapses and further complications. Adherence to treatment is not always optimal in patients with chronic diseases and this may affect disease outcome and lead to increased health care costs because of the risk of disease flares, medication escalation and complication rates. For this purpose, some tools are useful to help health-care professionals to improve patient's medication adherence. The best strategies include education, use of reminder systems and greater involvement of dedicated professionals, like IBD nurses. The next challenge will be to incorporate these strategies into daily clinical practice.