Patients Lack Knowledge of Hospital Medications

A new study to assess patient awareness of medications prescribed during a hospital visit found that 44 percent of patients believed they were receiving a medication they were not, and 96 percent were unable to recall the name of at least one medication they had been prescribed during hospitalization.

The study, conducted at the University of Colorado, Denver, and published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, involved 50 participants between ages 21 and 89 who all self-identified as knowing their outpatient medications, spoke English and were from the community around the University of Colorado Hospital. Nursing home residents and patients with a history of dementia were excluded. Patients younger than 65 were unable to name 60 percent of medications that they could take as needed, whereas patients older than 65 were unable to name 88 percent of these medications. The difference remained even after adjustment for the number of medications.

Antibiotics were the most commonly omitted scheduled medication with 17 percent of all omitted drugs being from this medication group, followed by cardiovascular medications (16 percent) and antithrombotics (15 percent). Among medications that could be taken as needed, analgesics (33 percent) and gastrointestinal medications (29 percent) were commonly omitted by patient recall.

Inpatient medication errors represent an important safety issue, with one review finding some degree of error in almost one in every five medication doses. The patient, as the last link in the medication chain, represents the final individual capable of preventing an incorrect medication administration.