000			02423nam a2200157 4500
005			20251029120031.0
008			251029b |||||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aDebaleena Das
245			_aHow well do patients understand medication information written in prescriptions? A study from Eastern India
300			_ap 83-89,
520			_aINTRODUCTION: Appropriate understanding of medicine-related advice in a prescription by patients ensures therapeutic compliance and mitigates avoidable medication intake-related errors. AIMS: This study assessed how well patients or their caregivers attending a tertiary care hospital have understood medicine-related information in their outpatient department (OPD) prescription. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective questionnaire-based observational study was conducted on patients attending outpatient clinics of four departments of a tertiary care hospital. The questionnaire had both open and close-ended questions, which assessed understanding of written information related to the prescribed medicines. RESULTS: A total of 380 patients were enrolled in the study. 59.21% (95% CI 54.2–64.04) respondents had an excellent or good understanding of drug dosage. Similarly, 40% (95% CI 35.2–45) about drug frequency and 59.77% (95% CI 54.66–64.7) had excellent understanding of drug duration. However, overall composite understanding of prescriptions was poor in 36.84% (95% CI 32.14–41.8) of study participants. Patients with a higher level of education or from higher socioeconomic groups had a better understanding compared to other educational and socioeconomic categories. Suggestions for better patient understanding included prescriptions in vernacular language and pictorial representations. CONCLUSIONS: The study conducted in a tertiary care public hospital in India, reveals suboptimal understanding of medication-related information in OPD prescriptions. Based on the study outcome, measures have been taken to address the issue. Furthermore, there is a need for designing tailored interventions based on the patient profile attending a healthcare facility to facilitate better understanding.
654			_aComprehension _aIndia _amedicines _aobervational study _aprescription _aunderstanding
700			_aKotal Shreya
773	0		_0125270 _9114201 _dMumbai Wolters Kluwer India _tIndian Journal of Pharmacology _x0253-7613
942			_cJA
999			_c133107 _d133107