Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine1. what proportion of patients read the printed information included with their eyedrops2. whether they read it looking for a perceived side effect3. if reading it leads them to experience side effects or consider stopping the treatment4. if the information made them feel more or less worried
Methods: :
68 patients attending our glaucoma outpatient clinic in February to July 2007 to were asked to complete a short questionnaire regarding their awarenes of, and response to, the information leaflet provided with their medication.
Results: :
66 Patients completed the questionnaire. 11 (16%) Said they had never read the drug information provided. Of the remaining 55, 10 (18%) had experienced side effects and then looked for them in the leaflet. 11 (20%), 6 (10%) and 38(70%) felt more worried, less worried and no different, respectively, because of the information provided. 9 of the 55 (16%) considered stopping their treatment while only 1 (1.9%) felt side effects only started after reading the information.
Conclusions: :
A significant proportion of patients feel more worried about their treatment after reading the information and a similar percentage considered stopping the treatment. The information provided only rarely prompts them to experience adverse effects.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: health care delivery/economics/manpower