Informing patients about serious side effects of drugs. A 2001 survey of 341 French rheumatologists.
OBJECTIVE
In May 2001, we surveyed French rheumatologists to determine how they inform their patients about serious side effects of drugs.


RESULTS
Of the 600 rheumatologists invited to participate in the study, 341 completed and returned the questionnaire. Most respondents believed that full information on patients would become the rule (mean, 62.1 +/- 28.3, the items being scored on a 100-point scale where 0 was "not at all" and 100 "absolutely"). The answer to this item varied little across age groups. Respondents felt that patient information fell primarily on the physician, (78 +/- 23), followed by pharmaceutical companies (64 +/- 32) and pharmacists (46 +/- 33). The respondents believed that full information of patients about side effects would primarily benefit physicians (51 +/- 32), followed by pharmaceutical companies (43 +/- 30) and patients (38 +/- 28). The reaction of patients to information on drug-related risks was described as "always favorable" by 2% of the respondents and as "fairly often favorable" by 55%. Among respondents, 9% always gave information on serious side effects, 66% fairly often, and 4% never; 2% always communicated information on the approximate frequency of serious adverse events, 21% fairly often, and 33% never. Similarly, 3% of the respondents always warned their patients of lethal risks, 11% fairly often, and 44% never. When evaluated on a 100-point scale (0, not at all knowledgeable; 100, very knowledgeable), knowledge of serious side effects of drugs for musculoskeletal conditions was 73 +/- 23, whereas knowledge of the frequency of these effects was only 52 +/- 22. Eight percent of the respondents always recommended that patients read the package insert, 27% fairly often, and 32% never. Conversely, the possible adverse effects of not taking the treatment were always specified by 21% of the respondents and fairly often by 88%.
Berthelot
Jean-Marie
JM
Service de Rhumatologie, Hôtel-Dieu, Nantes Teaching Hospital, CHU Nantes, 44093 Nantes, cedex 1, France. jeanmarie.berthelot@chu-nantes.fr
Glemarec
Joëlle
J
Guillot
Pascale
P
Chiffoleau
Anne
A
Maugars
Yves
Y
Rodat
Olivier
O
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D030881:Disclosure / Q000941:ethics; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D010358:Patient Participation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents