Reasons for Noncompliance • Denial of the problem. Many diseases and conditions are easy to ignore, even when they have been diagnosed. This is especially true for asymptomatic diseases, i.e. those that have no obvious symptoms that bother the patient. For example, patients with diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure) may not have symptoms that hinder everyday life. You may not even know you have this condition until it shows up during a routine exam. This makes it easy for patients to ignore prescribed treatment regimens. Non-compliance can, of course, have disastrous consequences. • The cost of treatment. Medications and treatments may or may not be covered by insurance, and the higher the out-of-pocket cost to the patient, the less likely they are to comply with purchasing medications or making treatment appointments. • The difficulty of the regime. Patients may have difficulty following directions. For example, taking a pill in the middle of the night or simply opening the "child-resistant" container can create a barrier