ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the necessity of patient medication education by surveying the pharmaceutical knowledge of the adult epileptic patients who are non-adherent to pharmacotherapy in Huashan Hospital. METHODS: A questionnaire was designed for adult patients with epilepsy who once had missed, stopped or reduced taking antiepileptic drugs before the survey, referring to the guidelines on pharmacist-conducted patient education and counseling of American Society of Health-system Pharmacists and the questionnaire of medication education on epileptic patients in Taiwan. RESULTS: Among the 109 patients, 88.1% did not know the dosage they were taking, 75.2% had incorrect expectation for the benefits of antiepileptic drugs, 90.8% did not know the correct therapeutic duration, more than 80% did not know how to deal with potential adverse effects and missed doses. Over 40% of the patients wanted to know the side effects, therapeutic duration and impact of the drugs on reproduction and memory. Only 12.8% of the patients acquired the knowledge of medicines from pharmacists. After the survey, 95.4% of the patients expressed that they were willing to join in the project of medication education. CONCLUSION: Non-adherent adult epileptic patients have poor knowledge of antiepileptic drugs, and there is much misunderstanding of antiepileptic drugs. The need of patients on medication education is intense, but the information resource is limited. Pharmacists, as a member of medical team, should take the responsibility of patient medication education to improve patient medication adherence and finally promote safe, effective and economical medication in clinical setting.