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Patients at hospitals nationwide may not be receiving adequate information about their prescription medicine, according to a recent UCLA study.

“We found that physicians are often just not communicating essential information when prescribing new medications,” said Derjung Tarn, lead researcher and assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

This lack of communication can lead to patients misunderstanding and potentially misusing the medication, the study found.

The prescriptions included dermatological medications, antibiotics, medications for the ear, nose and throat, and other medications.

The study, which was published in the Sept. 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, is based on data collected at two hospitals in Sacramento. The purpose was to determine how effectively physicians explain to patients the name of a newly prescribed medication, why they need to take it, how to take it, for how long to take it, how frequently to take it, and what the potential side effects can be.

The study was conducted using 185 patients with an average age of 55 and a group of family doctors, internists and cardiologists.

It was found that patients were provided with the name of the medication in 74 percent of the prescriptions. The purpose for taking the medication was explained to patients in 87 percent of the prescriptions while the adverse side effects were stated in 35 percent of the prescriptions. In addition, physicians explained the frequency that the medication should be taken in 58 percent of the cases.

“It is clear from our study that physicians could be doing a better job in prescribing medications and their side effects to patients,” said John Heritage, professor in the department of sociology and a fellow researcher.

It is important that patients know how to take medications properly, otherwise they are not as effective and may have adverse effects.

“One of the major ways that doctors prevent illness or make people better is by prescribing medications,” said Neil Wenger, professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and a fellow researcher.

If instructions are not properly conveyed, then this could have an effect on the treatment of the patient, he said.

While the investigators found that the physicians did an effective job in educating patients about new psychiatric medications and painkillers, they were not thorough in doing this with other new prescriptions.

“The lack of information could potentially contribute to patients misunderstanding how to take their medication. This is important for patients with chronic diseases,” Tarn said.

Though patients can access information about their medications through the Internet or from their pharmacist, Tarn said patients may not receive adequate information through these sources alone.

While pharmacists know the nature of the medication they are dispensing, they do not know the patient’s medical history, whereas the physician does.

“There are some things that don’t come on package inserts or bottles. The pharmacist may not know what the drug is used for because many drugs are used for more than one condition,” she said.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Web site suggests that patients ask their physicians questions about their medication if they are not provided with adequate information.

“A further recommendation from the study is that if physicians don’t provide the information voluntarily then the patients should ask,” Heritage said.

The researchers are working on improving the communication between physicians and patients.

“If in fact this is a major cause of patients not taking medications properly, it’s pretty good news because it’s an easy fix,” Wenger said.

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