COLUMBUS, Ohio -- New research shows one out of four patients leave the hospital without knowing what a newly prescribed drug is for and how to take that drug.
The research also suggests that patients discharged from the hospital with three or more newly prescribed drugs have a tougher time recalling the basics of their new medication regimen.
Providing a few minutes of counseling might be all that's necessary to inform patients about new drug plans, said Jon Schommer, associate professor of pharmacy at Ohio State University.
"At many hospitals, people are discharged without much notice," Schommer said. "While the hospital pharmacist or the nurse may stop by the room to provide some discharge counseling, there often isn't time to get to patients before they leave."
According to the research, three out of four former hospital patients could remember what a drug was prescribed for and how to take it.
Less than one out of four patients left the hospital knowing what to expect from a drug or how to change their lifestyle to fit the medication. Also, patients 55 or older were less likely than younger patients to know the purpose of their medications.
The research appeared in a recent issue of the American Journal of Health System Pharmacy.
Schommer said hospital pharmacists are often pressed for time, making it difficult to see a patient before he or she is released.
To help themselves before leaving the hospital, patients should make sure they know the following information about newly prescribed drugs:
- What the medications are;
- How to take the medication;
- What the medication is for;
- What to expect from the drug, such as side effects;
- What to avoid, such as sunlight or certain foods;
- Necessary lifestyle changes, such as diet.
The hospital in this study, Grant Medical Center in Columbus, gave patients written prescriptions. The responsibility for updating the patient's record and telling the patient how to use the drug then falls on the shoulders of the community pharmacist.
Schommer said patients should realize that their personal pharmacist may not know about the hospitalization. Even so, the dispensing pharmacist should offer information about newly prescribed drugs.
"Currently, hospital pharmacists aren't legally bound to offer information to patients," Schommer said. He added that many hospitals are increasing pharmaceutical staff by creating ambulatory care pharmacies in order to better assist patients. "It is the pharmacist's responsibility to ask if the patient has any questions," Schommer said. "Some people don't realize the pharmacist's job is to answer questions. A person should always have the answers to the basic questions before taking a drug."
Many hospitals provide patients with basic written information, such as the name of the drug and when to take it. Additionally, about 500 hospitals in the United States have started discharge planning programs through which patients can learn about new prescriptions.
"The critical point is when the patient is discharged into the community," Schommer said. "The hospital's no longer administering the medication, so the patient really needs to understand what he or she is doing."
Schommer co-authored the study with Julie King, a pharmacist at Merck-Medco Rx Services of Ohio and Rodney Wirsching, director of pharmacy at Grant/Riverside Hospital in Columbus.
The research was partially funded through a grant from the Central Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Contact: Jon Schommer, (614) 292-3011;
Schommer.1@osu.edu
Written by Holly Wagner, (614) 292-8310;
Wagner.235@osu.edu
Journal
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy