Consumer Preferences for Verbal and Written Medication Information

Abstract

The extent of medication use and drug information preferences was surveyed randomly from patients at six different pharmacy health care systems. Following verbal consultation, each patient was given one or more modified United States Pharmacopoeia drug information leaflets corresponding to the verbal information and a self-addressed, stamped questionnaire to complete. Chi-square analysis was performed on 317 responses with overwhelming acceptance (96 percent) of the medication information provided. Although a majority of respondents (62 percent) preferred a combination of both written and oral information, specific information preferences (oral, written, or both) were significantly related to educational level, pharmacy attended, and prescription status. Nearly 45 percent of the respondents indicated the information was responsible for changing their medication use. Subjects who were elderly, taking cardiovascular medications, or getting refill prescriptions were significantly less likely to change as a result of the information provided. Although 65 percent of the respondents were unwilling to pay an additional fee for the service, females and those who were 45-54 years and over 65 years old were significantly more willing to pay for the information. In addition, the willingness to pay tended to increase as the number of daily medications taken increased. Consideration of socioeconomic and prescription variables may help define subgroups with specific information preferences and counseling activities that may be directly reimbursable.

Health care contingent valuation studies: a review and classification of the literature

“…Examples would include Birdsall, who valued the benefits of a new health worker in a rural village [51], and Eckerlund who examined the optimal value of the Swedish health care budget [53]. There were a total of 11 (23%) such studies [22,24,32,37,38,45,48,50,51,53,54]. Of the remaining studies we collected data on the disease area studied and the type of intervention, either medical, surgical or pharmaceutical.…”

Educational material about genetic tests: Does it provide key information for patients and practitioners?

“…Furthermore, nongeneticists are less likely than geneticists to see a need for extensive counseling [Geller and Holtzman, 1995] [Laher et al, 1983] to enhance patient and practitioner understanding. There is evidence that written information can improve patient knowledge [Baker et al, 1991] and satisfaction [Culbertson et al, 1988;Harvey and Plumridge, 1991], and allay anxiety [Laine et al, 1989]. Provision of written materials has been especially recommended for genetic information [Task Force on Genetic Testing, 1996], which is complex, and can lead to social discrimination [Billings et al, 1992;Duster, 1990;Natowicz et al, 1992;Nelkin and Tancredi, 1989;Reilly, 1985] and unanticipated positive and negative psychological impacts [Axworthy et al, 1996;Huggins et al, 1992;Thelin et al, 1985] , 1996].…”

A qualitative report of patient problems and postoperative instructions

“…3 These adults often do not understand health education materials, whether informed consent documents or postoperative instructions. 4 These problems are particularly relevant if English is the patient's second language. A growing immigrant population and a crisis in recruiting minority individuals to health profession careers fuel the communication difficulties between doctors and patients.…”

“…Moreover, verbal or a combination of verbal and written instructions are preferred by most patients, particularly those with lower education. 3,4,6 However, without written reinforcement the understanding and retention of verbal instructions over a lengthy period of recovery cannot be assured.Alexander 3,9 stated that it is time for dental professionals, particularly those in the surgical specialties, to pay more attention to the phrasing, jargon, and terminology used in their postoperative instruction forms, as well as in their office brochures, informed consent forms, and the like. The purpose of this study was to elicit information from a minority sample about the types of problems encountered following oral surgery, the coping strategies they used to manage the problems, and the level of information regarding postoperative instructions they recalled receiving at an inner-city safety net hospital.…”

“…Moreover, verbal or a combination of verbal and written instructions are preferred by most patients, particularly those with lower education. 3,4,6 However, without written reinforcement the understanding and retention of verbal instructions over a lengthy period of recovery cannot be assured.…”