According to this study:
* Nearly half of patients misunderstood dosing instructions on labels of commonly prescribed drugs.
* Many patients who correctly stated instructions couldn't correctly demonstrate the number
* of pills to be taken daily.
* More than one-third with an adequate level of literacy made errors.
A new study of primary care patients found that 46% of patients interviewed were unable to read and correctly state one or more instructions on the label of a commonly prescribed medication.
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study using in-person, structured interviews of 395 English-speaking adults (mean age, 45 years) waiting to see their providers at three clinics serving mostly indigent populations in Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson, Michigan; and Chicago.
Interviewers assessed patients' understanding of instructions on five container labels: amoxicillin and trimethoprim (antibiotics), guaifenesin (an expectorant), felodipine (an antihypertensive), and furosemide (a diuretic). Responses were scored as either right or wrong.
As part of a secondary study, patients were given candy pills to demonstrate how they would take guaifenesin. Patient literacy was also evaluated using a word-recognition test with 66 health-related words.
Researchers found that correct understanding of the five labels ranged from 67% to 91%. Patients with a low literacy level, defined as reading at or below the sixth-grade level, were less able to understand all five label instructions. Although 71% of patients with a low literacy level correctly stated the instructions-"Take two tablets by mouth twice daily"-only 35% could accurately demonstrate the number of pills to be taken daily. Low and marginal literacy levels were statistically significant independent predictors of misunderstanding. But 38% of patients with adequate literacy skills also misunderstood at least one of the label instructions.
"This is cause for concern," write the study authors, "because patient misunderstanding could be a [horizontal ellipsis] source of medication error." They conclude that patients would benefit from additional efforts to improve the clarity and comprehensibility of labeling on prescription drugs.