The issue of not taking medicines as prescribed by medical practitioners has a history as long as the medical profession itself. The World Health Organization recently described the problem of patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses not taking their medication as prescribed as ‘a worldwide problem of striking magnitude’. Not taking medicines as prescribed has consequences not only for the individual in terms of therapeutic failure, but also for the wider society. For the individual, failure to take medication as prescribed may result in ill health, poorer quality of life, and reduced life expectancy. For the wider society, consequences include avoidable health care expenditure and the development of drug resistance.