Patients often do not understand usage instructions on prescription drug labels

Patients often do not understand usage instructions on prescription drug labels, according a study published in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

For the study, Terry Davis of Louisiana State University and colleagues presented five common prescription drug labels to 395 low-income adults in Chicago, Ill.; Shreveport, La.; and Jackson, Miss., and asked them, "How would you take this medicine?" All participants spoke English and had no vision or hearing problems.

The study found that 46.3% of participants did not understand the usage instructions on at least one of the prescription drug labels.

Among participants with a sixth-grade or lower reading level, 62.7% did not understand the usage instructions on at least one of the prescription drug labels, compared with 37.7% of those with a ninth-grade or higher reading level, the study found.

Davis said that the study indicates physicians should provide more specific instructions to patients on prescription drug usage. "For example, saying 'Take one pill at 8 a.m. and one pill at 8 p.m.' is better than saying 'Take one pill every 12 hours,' which is confusing to a lot of patients," Davis said (Ritter, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/30).

The study is available online.