Effect of auxiliary prescription labels on the elderly ambulatory patient's drug knowledge

The elderly take more drugs per capita than younger age groups. As a result, they may require more drug information. Auxiliary prescription labels are a common, yet little studied method of providing drug information. We studied 4 groups of 20 patients aged 65 or older, who obtain prescriptions at community pharmacies. They received either auxiliary label(s), counseling, both counseling and auxiliary labels, or no supplementary information at all. Counseling provided the same information verbally as was provided on the labels. Patients were interviewed 3-15 days later. Sixty-six percent were able to read auxiliary labels without difficulty. Significantly more patients who received auxiliary labels, with counseling (65 percent) or without counseling (63 percent), were able to recall supplementary information correctly and completely compared with patients who did not receive supplementary information (25 percent). However, a significant improvement in understanding or ability to apply this information was not found. Counseling alone did not significantly improve either outcome. It was concluded that the use of auxiliary labels is a useful, although not ideal, method of providing drug information for elderly patients in a busy community pharmacy setting.