Understanding the person behind the patient

Human beings make some strange decisions. According to the WHO, one of the principle reasons for transplant rejection is non-adherence to immunosuppressants. Studies have indicated that more than 20% of transplant recipients do not adhere properly to their medication. In the case of many other life-threatening diseases, adherence rates can fall below 50%. Why?

The importance of the decision-making context

We’ll investigate some responses to that question over a series of articles this year, but before we start diving into the fascinating and ever-evolving domain of behavioral science let’s step back for a minute to try better to understand the context in which these decisions are made. That requires an objective look at the actual day-to-day life of the person living with the disease.

Stakeholders in healthcare, whether healthcare professionals, payers, or the pharmaceutical industry, have long carried out research about the patient experience. Patient pathways are often examined in detail and a number of good frameworks exist to help detail what that experience is like. Traditionally, though, most of that