The impact of a drug information sheet on the understanding and attitude of patients about drugs
M. W. Johnson, W. E. Mitch, J. Sherwood, L. Lopes, A. Schmidt and H. Hartley
A proposed Food and Drug Administration program to require written
information with prescription drugs could cost $500 million annually; the
American Medical Association has implemented a similar, voluntary program
costing more than $3 million. However, the educational impact of written
drug information has not been studied. We evaluated one-page drug
information sheets using an objective examination. The baseline score of 71
patients was 3.9 of 6.0. Patients tested before and one day after receiving
the drug sheet improved their score by +1.4. In the second phase, patients
randomized to receive the drug sheet improved their score after one month
by +1.1; those not given the sheet had no improvement. Changes in attitudes
and incidence of reported adverse effects seemed to be random and unrelated
to the information sheet. Thus, a drug information sheet may be a useful
adjunct to patient education.
