Oral antibiotic usage: what do patients want to know about their medication

Patient’s desire about the amount and type of information related to their prescribed medication has been analysed. This research aimed to promote effective provision of information during dispensing of medication by using patients’ feedback as a baseline information. The objective of this study was to explore what patients want to know about their prescribed medications. This study was carried out at the Emergency Department of Hospital Sultan Ismail, Johor Bahru. Patients within the range of age between 20 and 50 years old whom have been prescribed with an oral antibiotic course at Emergency Department were the trial target population. Patients were asked to participate voluntarily and anonymously in the study. They were then given a brief explanation before answering the questionnaire. A pre validated questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. By using a convenience sampling technique, we managed to collect a total of 50 patients with 90% confidence level and 5% margin of error. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 and Microsoft Excel 2007 in order to generate valid, interpretable results. Overall, majority of patients were found to have high curiousity about administration and usage, as well as adverse reaction with regards to the medications prescribed. Meanwhile, patients showed less interest drug information relating to production and storage, properties, and costs of the prescribed drugs.