Emergency department patient knowledge of medications

Therapeutic decisions made by Emergency Physicians are often influenced by which prescribed medications are being taken by patients. We sought to asse ss Emergency Department (ED) patients' knowledge of their medications by us ing a survey. A convenience sample of adult ED patients was surveyed verbal ly by a research assistant. Two-hundred patients were enrolled, Only 48% of patients could recall or produce a list or the actual bottles of all of th eir meditations, 39% knew the times they take their medications, and only 2 4% knew all the dosages, Seventeen percent brought a list or the actual med ication bottles: with them to the ED. Patients who had a primary care physi cian knew all their medications 51% of the time, compared to 43% who did no t have a physician. Fifty-one percent of insured patients compared to 38% o f non-insured patients could identify all of their medications. Although kn owledge of medications is often critical for decision making in the ED, a s ignificant number of patients are unable to provide this information. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science Inc.