Sources of drug information for chronic patients in Alexandria, Egypt

OBJECTIVES: To identify patients' perceived drug knowledge, sources of drug information, need for more information and how this varied by patient characteristics particularly education level. METHODS: A convenience sample consisting of 366 patients older than 18 years of age were interviewed when leaving 20 Egyptian pharmacies after filling at least one prescription. Patients were asked about their: perceived knowledge of their drugs' purpose; use of patient package inserts to learn about side effects, contraindications and interactions; need to know more about their drugs; and general sources of drug information. RESULTS: More than 30% of the patients reported that they did not know the purpose of their drugs and only read patient package inserts (PPIs) selectively. While 36% read about drug interactions, more reported reading side effects (65%) and contraindications (60%) from PPIs. A full 69%of patients reported that they needed more information about their drug. This was true for 86.8% of patients with limited education compared to 48.5% of the university graduates. University graduates reported using all sources of information at significantly higher rates than did patients with lower levels of education. Family and friends were the most frequently cited source of information (48.6%), followed by television (31.1%), newspapers (24.9%) and internet (12.0%). CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for healthcare professionals to identify and respond to patient priorities and needs for drug information. This is especially true for patients with less schooling. Health professionals should consider that, patients obtain information from various sources when making decisions regarding their treatment.