HOW MUCH DO OUTPATIENTS KNOW ABOUT DRUGS PRESCRIBED TO THEM - A PILOT-STUDY

In a two-week-long pilot study, 21 outpatients with acute illness pres cribed and dispensed with medications were interviewed, using a standa rd questionnaire, to assess how informed they were of their drug regim ens and the source of that information. Some trends highlighted by the study included: (i) patients had a good knowledge of how much medicat ion to take and how often to take it; (ii) patients had less knowledge of the exact timing of the medication and the total duration of a cou rse; (iii) patients had poor knowledge of the intended actions of the drugs and side-effects; (iv) drug dispensers, more than prescribers, p rovided the patients with most of the information; (v) written instruc tion labels on drug packages were the only aid to memory, and the info rmation they contained was very limited; (vi) 67 % of the patients wer e literate but ability to read was not related to knowledge of their d rug regimens; (vii) patients were very poor at asking questions of the ir prescribers or dispensers. Further studies involving a larger and m ore varied population sample are warranted.