[Patient medication counseling--patient counseling about discharge medication]

Abstract

Background: With discharge from hospital, the correct use of his drugs is the responsibility of the patient. The patient's compliance mainly affects the success of therapy. An essential requirement for good compliance is informing the patient properly about the purpose and correct use of his drugs. In the first pilot study in Germany on this subject, we investigated how the additional patient medication counseling by a clinical pharmacist prior to discharge improves the patient's knowledge of his drugs.

Study design: During a 10-week period, 37 patients were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Patients of the intervention group were verbally and in writing informed about the purpose and correct use of their drugs. The effect of the additional counseling was determined in both groups by a questionnaire at the time of discharge and a telephone interview 2 weeks later.

Conclusion: Patient medication counseling by a clinical pharmacist prior to discharge improves the patient's knowledge of his drugs as an essential requirement of good compliance. Taking into consideration the economical consequences of noncompliance and the financial problems of the public health system it is advisable to establish this service in German hospitals.