Evaluation of patient medication counseling sources

Seven sources of information on patient medication counseling were evaluated. Each source was reviewed for inclusion of five types of information on 20 drugs selected randomly from the top 200 prescription drugs. The ASHP's Medication Teaching Manual was the most complete source in terms of including the largest number of sample drugs. Apelgren and Rowles's Handbook for Counseling Patients on Their Medications, Griffith's Drug Information for patients, Maudlin and Young's Drug Consultation Guide, and Smith's Medication Guide for Patient Counseling were nearly as complete in this regard. In terms of including information in each of the five categories for the sample drugs, the U.S. Pharmacopeia Dispensing Information and the Medication Teaching Manual ranked highest. Cost, size, format, and indexing of the sources are compared, and special features and limitations of the source are presented. All the publications are at least adequate patient counseling sources, although some are more complete and thorough than others.