EFFECTS OF SELF-MEDICATION PROGRAM ON KNOWLEDGE OF DRUGS AND COMPLIANCE WITH TREATMENT IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

Objective-To determine whether a programme of self medication for inpa tients improves compliance with treatment and knowledge of their drugs after discharge from hospital. Design-Patients were prospectively rec ruited from four wards: two with a self medication programme and two a cting as controls. Ten days after discharge the patients were visited at home. They were questioned about their drugs, and a tablet count wa s undertaken. Setting-The pharmacy department and four medical wards w ith an interest in elderly patients at a district general hospital, an d the patients' homes. Patients-88 patients discharged to their own ho mes who were regularly taking one or more drugs. Intervention-A hospit al self medication programme in which patients are educated about thei r medicines and given increasing responsibility for taking them in hos pital. Main outcome measure-Compliance with and knowledge of the purpo se of their medicines 10 days after discharge from hospital. Results-T he mean compliance score in patients taking part in the self medicatio n programme was 95% compared with 83% in the control group (difference 12%, 95% confidence interval 4% to 21%; P<0.02). Of the patients in t he self medication group, 90% (38/42) knew the purpose of their drugs compared with 46% (17/37) in the control group (difference 44%, 26% to 63%; P<0.001). Conclusion-A self medication programme is an effective aid for improving compliance with and knowledge of patients' drugs af ter discharge.