Terry C. Davis|Alex D. Federman|Pat F. Bass|Robert H. Jackson|Mark Middlebrooks|Ruth M. Parker|Michael S. Wolf
Improving Patient Understanding of Prescription Drug Label Instructions
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport|Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai|Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport|Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport|Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport|Emory University|Northwestern University
patient misunderstanding instructions prescription drug labels common likely cause medication error less effective treatmentto test whether use explicit language describe dose frequency use prescribed drugs could improve comprehension especially among patients limited literacycrosssectional study using inperson structured interviewsthree hundred fiftynine adults waiting appointment two hospitalbased primary care clinics one federally qualified health center shreveport louisiana chicago illinois new york new york respectivelycorrect understanding ten label instructions determined blinded panel review patients verbatim responsespatient understanding prescription label instructions ranged 53 least understood 89 commonly understood label patients significantly likely understand instructions explicit times periods ie morning precise times day compared instructions stating times per day ie twice hourly intervals 89 77 61 53 respectively p 0001 multivariate analyses dosage instructions specific times time periods significantly likely understood compared instructions stating times per day time periodsadjusted relative risk ratio arr 042 95 confidence interval ci 034052 specific timesarr 060 95 ci 049074 low marginal literacy remained statistically significant independent predictors misinterpreting instructions lowarr 270 95 ci 181403 marginalarr 166 95 ci 118232use precise wording prescription drug label instructions improve patient comprehension however patients limited literacy likely misinterpret instructions despite use explicit language