[Consumer study on the use of patient information leaflets]

The aim of this study was to get a clear idea of the reading frequency of the patient information leaflet (PIL) and to set up a profile of the reader in specific. Apart from that, we also wanted to evaluate the impact of the internet in the patient's search for information on health and medication. Do patients consult the digital PIL and is the FAGG website known by common people? In order to answer these research questions, a specific inquiry was performed in 800 respondents. Some interesting conclusions can be drawn: only one out of four participants reads the full PIL when purchasing a medicine they never used before. People who always read the PIL are mainly older than 65. However, the largest amount of people who never reads the PIL is also situated in the plus 65 scale. In general, men show little interest in reading the PIL unlike woman, who read clearly more often the PIL. The parts of the PIL most often read by patients are the sections on dosage (section 3) and side effects (section 4). Unfortunately, too little attention is paid to the section 2, which contains the most warnings, such as contra-indications. The most important reason why the PIL is not read is because patients believe they get sufficient information from the doctor and the pharmacist. Another remark is that the internet is used by more than half of the respondents to search for health-related information. There is also a remarkable difference between men and woman, men rarely search for health information or information on medicines on the internet. The number of respondents searching for leaflets on the internet is quite limited. Additionally, the Federal Agency Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) website is unknown to most internet users. We can conclude that the actual PIL is read too little. In order to make the PIL more appealing and even more patient friendly than it is actually, taking patients' needs into account should be a priority. The digital leaflet should be drawn attention to in order for patients to make more use of the information that is available to them.