Whether you have an ACO or not, patients’ adherence to treatment is affecting your organization in a meaningful way. While non-adherence to prescribed orders for medication, therapy, diet, and physical activity is driving the largest segment of ACO costs through chronic diseases, for non-ACO organizations many don’t realize that treatment adherence can also be a consideration in patient eligibility for high-dollar surgeries like kidney and heart transplants, as well as gastric lap banding.
During a recent interview, Robin DiMatteo, PhD, adherence expert and professor of psychology at the University of California-Riverside, says that interest in her field has exploded. During the past five years Dr. DiMatteo has been invited to lecture and train healthcare professionals at over 60 major medical centers, including Harvard University, the Mayo Clinic, and the Cleveland Clinic, as well as accountable care organizations (ACOs), employer health coalitions, and health plans.
Below is a list of seven (7) authoritative books to enhance your expertise on patient health behaviors and treatment adherence. The books are listed below in alphabetical order.
Changing for Good (2007); Authors: James Prochaska, John Norcross, Carlo DiClemente; 304 pages
Summary: Psychologist James Prochaska is the godfather of behavior change theory. He developed the first unifying transtheoretical analysis of all psychotherapy approaches to behavior change. This books is written in layman’s terms and can be easily read by clinical professionals, healthcare managers, and most patients.
Health Behavior Change and Treatment Adherence (2010); Authors: Leslie R. Martin, Kelly B. Haskard-Zolnierek, M. Robin DiMatteo; 212 pages
Summary: This book covers all modern theories of behavior change with a special emphasis on the Information-Motivation-Strategy Theory. This book draws on DiMatteo’s extensive, practical expertise in patient-provider communications. The language is slightly more technical than Change for Good, but should be appropriate for all types of healthcare professionals.
Motivational Interviewing in Health Care: Helping Patients Change Behavior (2007); Authors: Stephen Rollnick, William R. Miller, Christopher C. Butler; 210 pages
Summary: Motivational interviewing is technique that has skyrocketed from its original use with addictive behaviors to widespread use in all forms of patient health behaviors and treatment adherence. Rollnick and Miller were the original proponents for MI.
Patient Treatment Adherence (2012); Editors: Hayden B. Bosworth, Eugene Z. Oddone, Morris Weinberger; 580 pages
Summary: Each of this book’s 18 chapters cite between 50 to 200 studies. The final bibliography is 43 pages with two columns of citations on each page. If your organization is research-driven, or you just like going back to the “source code” to check the facts, this book is your cup of tea.
Promoting Treatment Adherence (2006); Editors: William T. O’Donohue, Eric R. Levensky; 472 pages
Summary: The editors were very successful in soliciting experts on various topics to author each chapter of this text. For example, James Prochaska authored a chapter on patients’ readiness to change while psychologist Paul Cook, developer of the ScriptAssist program, authored a fascinating chapter on medication adherence. Other chapters on motivational interviewing, patient skills training, and patient problem solving are all very well written by individuals who obviously have real world experience in each topic.
The Handbook of Health Behavior Change, Fourth Edition (2013); Editors: Kristin A. Riekert, Judith K. Ockene, Lori Pbert; 544 pages
Summary: No one on the HCTA staff has taken a crack at this new edition yet. The editors have paired down the “gold standard” text from the third edition’s whopping 895 pages to a still comprehensive 544 pages. The author list for the 25 chapters reads like a who’s who list in the health behavior field. The Prochaskas and DiMatteo both serve as guest authors along with several dozen others.
The Oxford Handbook of Health Communication, Behavior Change, and Treatment Adherence (2013); Editors: Leslie R. Martin, M. Robin DiMatteo; 528 pages
Summary: The authors of Health Behavior Change and Treatment Adherence have returned with a beefed up text that is nearly two-and-half times the length of their last book. You may try taking the Information-Motivation-Strategy model for a test drive with the 200-page Health Behavior Change and Treatment Adherence before jumping into this beast.