Patient knowledge and information concerning medication on discharge from hospital

Abstract

This study aimed to establish whether patients had sufficient knowledge and information concerning their medications on discharge from hospital. The purpose was also to identify who educated and provided patients with information and in what form it came. The study was carried out in five medical wards of a large teaching hospital, where patients were interviewed on the morning of discharge. By using a medication checklist the findings of this study appeared to indicate that the patients interviewed had relatively little knowledge or information regarding their discharge medications. However, overall their knowledge and information concerning their discharge medications had improved in relation to that of their admission medications. Despite this finding, there remains a definite need for structured medication teaching programmes with appropriate assessment of patients needs on admission to hospital.

Medication Reconciliation Accuracy and Patient Understanding of Intended Medication Changes on Hospital Discharge

“…10,11 A 1999 study of 342 patients found that 54 % had inadequate knowledge of their medications 1 week after discharge; 12 other smaller studies show similar results. [13][14][15][16][17] Nonetheless, physicians grossly overestimate patient understanding. 15 No study has simultaneously evaluated medication reconciliation accuracy and patient understanding to form a comprehensive view of medication problems associated with hospitalization.…”

Patients' perceptions of drug information given by a rheumatology nurse: A phenomenographic study

“…Following hospitalization, patients have insuffi cient knowledge about their medications. Many do not know the names of their drugs the recommended dose, how they should be taken, the side effects and when they should seek medical advice (Holloway, 1996). Rycroft-Malone et al (2001) reported that nurses appear to have a mental list of what they should inform the patient about when introducing a new medication.…”

Use of a patient classification instrument as a guide to plan nursing discharge

“…Other approaches were equally used by nurses, such as: family behavior towards patient with Alzheimer or patients with mental disorders, search for support groups (Table 3). Table 2 -Distribution of care areas observed through the use of patient classification instrument and the content of nurses' discharge guidance (without instrument) of home care (6) contribute to the return of patients to the hospital with problems that could have been avoided, or even controlled (2) . Although the nurses acknowledge being responsible for the coordination of the discharge planning process and also that the identification of the care needs should be done during the hospitalization period (3) , in practice, the guidance provided to patients and relatives to guarantee care continuity is still reduced (18) .…”

“…Education is an essential component when it comes to care delivery and the nurses have more opportunities to educate the patients in comparison with other professionals. However, this activity has often been neglected because there is, in professional practice, a lower degree of involvement of clinical nurses in patient education (6) . Reports of nurses regarding more developed activities in hospitalization units show that educational actions with patients represent only 7.1% when compared to other activities (7) .…”