Strategies for Optimizing Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: Lessons from Research and Clinical Practice

Successful treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) requires that patients maintain nearly perfect adherence to the prescribed regimen. Suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy is clearly the most common cause of virologic failure of HAART regimens. Given the critical role of adherence in successful antiretroviral therapy, it is essential that providers of care for patients with HIV infection have a strategy that proactively assists and supports their patients' efforts to adhere to medication regimens. This review endeavors to provide a clinically focused approach to optimizing adherence of patients to HAART.