Exploring patient participation in reducing health-care-related safety risks

Exploring patient participation in reducing health-care-related safety risks
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Fig . 5 .2 . Relationship between patients’ knowledge and the number of medicines taken
How many medicines do you take every day?
More than 7
5–7
3–5
Up to 3
%
0 20 40 60 80 100
Do you know the names and dosages of all medicines you take?
Almost two thirds said they discussed their medication during every visit to the doctor,
but it is not known what aspects of pharmacotherapy were covered in these discussions
(for example, does the patient obtain answers to all their questions, does the doctor
provide clear and patient-friendly information and does the patient understand the
answers?).
Regarding discussions about medicines taken, most (93%) claimed they, their family or
an accompanying person initiated such conversations during medical visits. This clearly
shows there are problems related to drug use that require explanation and clarification.
Only 7% of respondents (all women) stated that conversations had been started by the
physician, which indicates insufficient pharmacotherapy surveillance and monitoring by
physicians and suggests that patients are rarely asked about ADRs. It seems that doctors
mainly refer to the written information in the patient’s file.
Only 6% of respondents stated that the doctor mentioned or discussed potential
interactions related to the medicines being taken: 94% of patients may therefore not be
aware that prescribed drugs might have interactions with other medicines or with OTC
drugs and/or dietary supplement(s).
The survey results suggest that few doctors were interested in their patients’ medication
history. Only 6% of patients stated that their doctor always asked about medicines being
taken before prescribing a new one (Fig. 5.3): over a third (37%) reported that it “never
happens” and more than half (57%) that it was “sometimes” discussed. This implies
that almost 40% of patients are at risk of adverse interactions, as the doctor – unless
he or she has thoroughly consulted the patient’s file and the recorded information is
complete – will not be aware of which medicines have been taken recently and will not
knowledgeably manage the risk of potential interactions.
Only one respondent indicated that the doctor asked about previous ADEs when
prescribing a new medication. Over a third (37%) confirmed that this “sometimes”
happened but 61% (30 respondents) claimed the doctor never asked about this.
Yes
No