The oral contraceptive PPI: its effect on patient knowledge, feelings, and behavior

The distribution of the PPI by pharmacists is at best controversial. Although most health professionals agree that the patient has a right to receive information about drugs, they disagree on the best way to provide that information. Since the oral contraceptive PPI has been in routine use for approximately 10 years, a large data base exists that can be used to determine not only patient acceptance of the PPI, but also knowledge, feelings, and behavior secondary to the PPI. In this study, 50 women of childbearing age completed a questionnaire, and it was learned that 84 percent had taken or were currently taking oral contraceptives, and 90 percent of those received a PPI; however, only 61 percent of these women read all of it. The women performed poorly on the knowledge exam (mean +/- SD, 44.5 +/- 21.2, range, 0-83 percent); those who read all of the PPI or who were white had higher scores (p less than 0.02 and p less than 0.001, respectively). Thirty-eight percent of the women thought that the PPI information was inadequate, suggesting that it needs to be rewritten and/or supplemented with information from pharmacists. After reading the PPI, 12 percent contacted their pharmacist for additional information. Pharmacists are in a unique position to provide oral contraceptive information that enables women to make informed judgments regarding benefit:risk ratios on a personal basis.