Providing patients with written medication information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature and provide recommendations for the development and dissemination of written medication information to patients and their care providers. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search (1966-1997) of the English-language literature was performed to identify articles pertaining to the development or use of written medication information. A search of the Internet was conducted by using Yahoo as the guide and "medication information" as the search term. Additional resources were obtained through texts, bibliographies, and catalogs from medical publishers. DATA EXTRACTION: Reports documenting the creation and use of written medication information systems were reviewed, as well as studies of readability and reading skills assessment. Examples of materials available for purchase by laypeople and healthcare providers were also examined. DATA SYNTHESIS: Current statistics support the widespread availability of written medication information for patients and care providers. The goal set forth by the Food and Drug Administration of having 75% of patients receive written information by the year 2000 appears achievable. However, there are still many issues to address. Content is not standardized, and materials are frequently written at reading levels higher than that of the average patient. The development and use of resources requiring only minimal reading skills and an increase in the availability of materials written in Spanish are needed. CONCLUSIONS: Written medication information provides a useful addition to counseling by healthcare professionals. A wide variety of prepared materials is available, as well as resources for those interested in developing tools for a specific patient, population, or setting. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the limitations of some resources. Content and readability must be appropriate for the intended audience for these tools to serve a useful role in patient education.
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Clinicians often address multiple health behaviors simultaneously and supplement office visits with written materials such as patient information sheets or brochures.
“Clinicians often address multiple health behaviors simultaneously and supplement office visits with additional health education through written materials, such as patient information sheets or brochures [1, 2].”
From Engaging women with an embodied conversational agent to deliver mindfulness and lifestyle recommendations: A feasibility randomized control trial (2017) · cites this paper as [1]
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- Authors
- Buck, M. L.
- Affiliations
- Children's Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Buck, Marcia L
- ORCID
- Buck, Marcia L
- Venue
- Annals of Pharmacotherapy
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1998-09
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 962-969
- ISSN
- 0012-6578 (ISSN-L)
- 1060-0280
- 1542-6270
- OpenAlex
- W2166767686
- Cited by
- 72
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of Pharmacotherapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Keywords
- patient education, drug information, readability, reading skills, Spanish-language materials, patient counseling
- MeSH terms
- Counseling, Drug Information Services, Drug Labeling, Humans, Patient Education as Topic, Drug Prescriptions, United States, United States Food and Drug Administration, MEDLINE
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