"When I have a patient who is not following their treatment plan, I first try to determine why. I set a meeting to talk with the patient and gently ask why they refused to follow the plan. How I follow up depends on their answer. I recently had a patient who was not following her treatment plan, and when I asked her why, she said it was because she wasn't interested in improving because her family never took her out anymore. Her goal was to improve so she could go out with her family more often and enjoy life, but when they stopped visiting, she gave up hope. After hearing that, I met with the family and explained their mother's goals and how she felt when her family didn't visit. They had become so busy with a new house and baby, and they did not realize how that impacted their mother's progress. They agreed to schedule at least one day a week to take their mother out, and my patient agreed to start following the treatment plan."
