Counseling patients about prescribed medication: 12-year trends

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient Education
• Pharmaceutical Policy

Background:

• The study examines patient reports of prescription drug counseling activities.
• It assesses changes following the 1980 pilot program for patient package inserts and the 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) counseling requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine trends in patient-reported prescription drug counseling.
• To evaluate the impact of legislative changes on patient counseling practices.

Main Methods:

• Four national telephone surveys conducted in 1982, 1984, 1992, and 1994.
• Random-digit dialing used to select telephone households.
• Data collected on verbal counseling and written information distribution at physician offices and pharmacies for patients with new prescriptions.

Main Results:

• Slight increase in spontaneous verbal counseling at physician offices, primarily for side effects and precautions.
• Larger increases in pharmacy-provided information on directions for use and precautions.
• Patient questioning remained low (single digits).
• Receipt of written information increased from 5% to 15% at physician offices and 16% to 59% at pharmacies.

Conclusions:

• Verbal counseling showed modest gains, while written information delivery, particularly at pharmacies, increased substantially.
• Findings underscore the ongoing need for effective patient education strategies.
• Results align with Healthy People: 2000 goals and legislative efforts to enhance patient counseling.