Medication noncompliance: an issue to consider in the drug selection process.

Patient medication noncompliance is a major public health problem that represents a significant cost to our health care system. Health care professionals--through counseling programs, and the pharmaceutical industry--through various improvements in drug products, have helped to improve medication noncompliance. Yet, additional research needs to be conducted on noncompliant behavior and into methods to improve it. All health care professionals, particularly those involved in selecting and guiding drug therapy decisions, need to be made aware of the costs to the health care system that result from noncompliance.