From Mary Shomon Your Thyroid Guide
Survey Reveals Patient Concerns about Medication-Related Issues:
ASHP Calls for Increased Patient Access to Pharmacists In Hospitals and Health Systems
July 2002 -- A vast majority of Americans are concerned about medication-related issues, such as drug interactions and medication errors, when entering a hospital or health system, according to a new survey conducted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The national survey found that 85 percent of Americans are concerned about at least one medication-related issue.
The top concerns cited by respondents included:
- Being given two or more medicines that interact in a negative way (70 percent),
- Being given the wrong medicine (69 percent),
- Cost of treatment (69 percent),
- Complications from the medical procedure such as an infection (69 percent),
- Potential harmful side effects from taking a medication (67 percent), and
- Cost of prescription medicine (67 percent).
"This study illustrates that medication-related issues are a real concern for many patients," said ASHP President Debra Devereaux, MBA, FASHP. "That makes it especially important for patients to know that they can turn to the pharmacist to answer their questions about medications."
Three-fourths of respondents believed that speaking to a pharmacist would help address some of the 10 health concerns mentioned. The vast majority of respondents (90 percent) said they would talk to the pharmacist about their medication if the opportunity were made available with their health system. About a quarter (23 percent) of the respondents surveyed recalled speaking with a pharmacist while in a hospital, clinic or nursing home.
"The fact is, pharmacists play an integral role in preventing the problems that concern patients most," said Devereaux. "Pharmacists work closely with physicians and other health care providers in health systems. We are uniquely qualified to counsel patients about the safest, most effective ways to use today's powerful and complex drugs."
The survey also found that women were more likely than men to be concerned about these common health issues. Women were significantly more concerned about complications from medical procedures, the cost of prescription medicines, the ability to control pain, and not knowing how to use their medications correctly after leaving the health system.
Eighty-three percent of respondents said they would be interested in having a pharmacist work closely with them and their physician to monitor how well their medication is working. The vast majority (93 percent) of respondents who were interested in having a pharmacist monitor their medication said they would support this as a new Medicare benefit. ASHP commissioned the poll of 1,004 adults nationwide between May 1 and 5, 2002. The data were weighted to reflect the demographic make-up of the adult U.S. population. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
ASHP is the 30,000-member national professional association that represents pharmacists who practice in hospitals, health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, home care and other components of health care systems. ASHP, which has a long history of medication error prevention efforts, believes that the mission of pharmacists is to help people make the best use of medicines. Assisting pharmacists in fulfilling this mission is ASHP's primary objective. The Society has extensive publishing and educational programs designed to help members improve their professional practice, and it is the national accrediting organization for pharmacy residency and pharmacy technician training programs. For more information, visit http://www.ashp.org or http://www.safemedication.com.
Source: PR Newswire
