Adherence in Acne

Poor adherence is a common cause for treatment failure in treatable diseases such as acne. Numerous studies have examined this relationship, along with the reasons why patients tend to not adhere to their acne medications and methods that may improve their adherence. Poor adherence can include failure to obtain the medication, “drug holidays,” early discontinuation, or simply misunderstanding how the medication is supposed to be used. Insufficient adherence leads to the addition of unnecessary acne treatments, patient frustration and dissatisfaction, and increase in medical expense. Only about 50 % of patients may adhere properly to the therapeutic regimen defined by their dermatologist [1, 2].