A study contrasting different modalities of medication discharge counseling

The effects of different modalities of medication discharge counseling on patients' medication knowledge were studied. Patients discharged from medical/surgical units in a community hospital were counseled utilizing one of three methods or received no counseling, according to their randomized study group assignment. The three types of discharge counseling studied were: (1) distributing written information and answering all patient questions, (2) verbal counseling performed by a pharmacist, or (3) verbal counseling performed by a pharmacist with distribution of written information. The control group received no counseling or written information. Patient information was collected, and the time and costs of the counseling were recorded. A questionnaire was sent to each patient 1 week after discharge from the hospital to determine a patient's knowledge of his/her medications. The questionnaires were scored by a pharmacist unaware of the type of counseling the patient had received. Upon completion of the scoring, the study data was collated and statistically analyzed. The results showed that medication discharge counseling conducted by a pharmacist does improve a patient's knowledge of his medications and that pharmacist intervention in medication teaching does improve the counseling results. Also, the study demonstrated that verbal counseling in combination with written information increased the patient's awareness of his medications the most, and was a financially feasible method. This study supports the development and continuation of pharmacist-conducted medication discharge counseling in rural community hospitals.