Suitability and readability of consumer medical information accompanying prescription medication samples

Patient Education and Counseling
Lorraine S WallaceBarry D Weiss

Abstract

To examine readability and formatting characteristics of consumer medication information (CMI) accompanying prescription medication samples. We collected the most commonly used prescription medication samples (n=100) from four out-patient clinics at a large teaching hospital in the Southeastern US. Seventeen percent of samples were not pills/tablets and of such diverse nature (e.g., injections, drops, and creams) that there were not enough in any category to draw conclusions. Therefore, our analyses were limited to 83pill/tablet samples, belonging to 11 drug classes (e.g., cardiovascular, and psychiatric). We noted if CMI was present, and if so we assessed it for how instructions were presented, reading level, text size, format/layout, and comprehensibility. No CMI was present in 39 (46.9%) samples. In 19 (22.9%), CMI was contained in a package insert and in 25 (30.2%) it was printed on the medication package. Average reading difficulty of CMI was at the 10th grade level (range=6-15) using the Fry formula, and text point size was small (mean 9.9+/-2.2 on package inserts and 9.4+/-2.6 when printed on packages). Almost half of samples did not include any type of CMI. For those that had CMI, it was often written at a reading diffi...Continue Reading

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Oct 27, 2012·Journal of Women & Aging·Deborah H Charbonneau
Dec 12, 2012·Journal of Health Communication·Matthew S McGloneJoseph McGlynn
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