Medical News

15.10.07: Patients Do Not Know Names Of Their Medications

The majority of doctors believe, that when a patient comes, he will describe in detail the medications he takes. However, the new investigation showed that the information received cannot be reliable. 40% of the participants could not remember the name of their medication reducing blood pressure. 60% of the participants were unfamiliar with health issues (could not read and properly understand materials, connecteв with health). The author of the investigation Stephen Persell (Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Chikago, USA) notices, that this may result in prescribing incompatible drugs and ineffective treatment of chronic diseases. Stephen Persell and his colleagues asked 119 patients, suffering from hypertension. The average age of the patients was 55 years. The participants were asked to name the drugs they are taking. The recollected titles were compared to the titles in the medical charts. Almost 1/3 of patients with adequate level of medical knowledge could not give proper titles of the drugs. One of the possible solutions of the problem may be asking patients to bring drugs with them when they come to see a doctor. The authors of the investigation also suggest, that pharmaceutical producers should give simple names to generic-medications. In the US the medications are sold with chemical titles, which can not be even pronounced by an average citizen.