Journal article
Inclusion of salt form on prescription medication labeling as a source of patient confusion: a pilot study
Pharmacy practice, Vol.14(1), pp.677-677
01/2016
DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2016.01.677
PMCID: PMC4800016
PMID: 27011777
Abstract
It has been estimated that 10,000 patient injuries occur in the US annually due to confusion involving drug names. An unexplored source of patient misunderstandings may be medication salt forms.
The objective of this study was to assess patient knowledge and comprehension regarding the salt forms of medications as a potential source of medication errors.
A 12 item questionnaire which assessed patient knowledge of medication names on prescription labels was administered to a convenience sample of patients presenting to a family practice clinic. Descriptive statistics were calculated and multivariate analyses were performed.
There were 308 responses. Overall, 41% of patients agreed they find their medication names confusing. Participants correctly answered to salt form questions between 12.1% and 56.9% of the time. Taking more prescription medications and higher education level were positively associated with providing more correct answers to 3 medication salt form knowledge questions, while age was negatively associated.
Patient misconceptions about medication salt forms are common. These findings support recommendations to standardize the inclusion or exclusion of salt forms. Increasing patient education is another possible approach to reducing confusion.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Inclusion of salt form on prescription medication labeling as a source of patient confusion: a pilot study
- Creators
- Dana J McDougall - Covenant Cancer Treatment Center, Waterloo, IA ( United States ). At time of writing: Northeast Iowa Medical Education Foundation. Dana.Mcdougall@wfhc.orgJames D Hoehns - Northeast Iowa Medical Education Foundation, Waterloo, IA; & Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa . Iowa City, IA ( United States ). jhoehns@neimef.orgTara T Feller - Health-System Pharmacy Administration Resident, The John Hopkins Hospital . Baltimore, MD ( United States ). At time of writing: College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa. tara.feller13@gmail.comSavana J Kriener - Sterling Drug. Cresco, IA ( United States ). At time of writing: College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa . novak.savana@gmail.comMatthew J Witry - Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa . Iowa City, IA ( United States ). matthew-witry@uiowa.edu
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Pharmacy practice, Vol.14(1), pp.677-677
- DOI
- 10.18549/PharmPract.2016.01.677
- PMID
- 27011777
- PMCID
- PMC4800016
- NLM abbreviation
- Pharm Pract (Granada)
- ISSN
- 1885-642X
- eISSN
- 1886-3655
- Publisher
- Spain
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2016
- Academic Unit
- Pharmacy Practice and Science; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984065318702771
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