Editorial

From the desk of the editor

Welcome to the May 2013 edition of i2P - Information to pharmacists.
Economic turbulence seems to now be arriving in Australia with forecasts of high inflation rates, which also means high interest rates following on.
This type of economic forecast also means that banks will be more fractious with their borrowers. They are already offside with pharmacy due to the high level of bankruptcies over the past two years.
There is a pent up demand for a general wage increase for pharmacists impacting at a point in this month where pharmacy gross profit generally, is in decline.

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Patients Don't Understand Health Information

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Editing and Researching news and stories about global and local Pharmacy Issues

Nearly 50 percent of patients have difficulty understanding health information.
Confusing medical directions, such as word choice, dosage and timing of prescription medicine, can lead to serious consequences including health setbacks, inappropriate hospital admissions and sometimes, death.

Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions have examined a rehabilitation facility and an independent senior-living facility to see what health care facilities can do to increase patient understanding and positive outcomes.

At the independent living facility, paperwork was written at a college-sophomore reading level. Previous studies have recommended that medical information be written at a fifth to eighth-grade reading level.

Another common health literacy issue is clear oral communication between health care professionals and patients. At the rehabilitation facility, health care professionals rarely asked patients if they were "being clear".

Problems with oral communication also extend to a lack of availability of multilingual employees who can translate for providers. Following the evaluation, the researchers gave suggestions to each facility.

Researchers recommend several steps that the health care industry can take to increase patient understanding:

* Health care professionals should use plain language, instead of professional jargon, as well as make sure a patient understands their directions.
* Printed materials should be available in large, easy-to-read fonts and written at a fifth to eighth grade level.
* Clear maps and consistent navigational signs should be posted throughout the interior, as well as on the exterior of the building.
* Wheelchair accessibility also should be a consideration beyond mobility. For example, maps should be posted at wheelchair-level.

Researchers are working to educate current and future health care professionals on the importance of patient understanding by speaking at professional conferences and advocating curriculum changes.

The study was published in the journal Occupational Therapy in Health Care.

Older Americans need help with end of life medical care
One in four elderly Americans require someone else to make decisions about their medical care at the end of their lives, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The results illustrate the value of people making their wishes known in a living will and designating someone to make treatment decisions for them, the researchers said.

The Associated Press reported that in the study, those who spelled out their preferences in living wills usually got the treatment they wanted. Only a few wanted heroic measures to prolong their lives.

The researchers said it's the first accounting of how many of the elderly really end up needing medical decisions made for them.

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