title: What patients want to know about their medications. Focus group study of patient and clinician perspectives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe what patients want to know about their medications and how they currently access information. To describe how physicians and pharmacists respond to patients' information needs. To use patients', physicians', and pharmacists' feedback to develop evidence-based treatment information sheets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative study using focus groups and a grounded-theory approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three regions of Canada (British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Ontario).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-eight patients, 27 physicians, and 35 pharmacists each took part in one of 19 focus groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Purposeful and convenience sampling was used. A trained facilitator used a semistructured interview guide to conduct the focus groups. Analysis was completed by at least two research-team members.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients wanted both general and specific information when considering medication treatments. They wanted basic information about the medical condition being treated and specific information about side effects, duration of treatment, and range of available treatment options. Physicians and pharmacists questioned the amount of side-effect and safety information patients wanted and thought that too much information might deter patients from taking their medications. Patients, physicians, and pharmacists supported the use of evidence-based treatment information sheets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients and clinicians each appear to have a different understanding of what and how much information patients should receive about medications. Feedback from patients can be used to develop patient-oriented treatment information.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ont.
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dolovich
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cassels
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.forename: Mitch
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Sheri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burns
mesh_terms: D004358:Drug Therapy; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations