If a patient is non-compliant with their medications, what is the recommended next step?

When addressing a situation where a patient is non-compliant with their medications, sending the patient to a psychologist is appropriate because it allows for the exploration of underlying psychological factors that may be contributing to the non-compliance. Non-compliance can often be linked to various issues, such as mental health conditions (e.g., depression or anxiety), lack of understanding about the medication, or issues related to the patient’s beliefs and attitudes about their treatment.

Consequently, involving a psychologist can help identify these issues and assist in developing coping strategies, improving the patient’s motivation to adhere to their medication regimen, or addressing misconceptions about the treatment. This comprehensive approach is crucial because simply adjusting medication dosage, providing more medication, or consulting a dietitian does not directly tackle the root causes of non-compliance and may fail to improve the patient's overall treatment adherence.