The oral contraceptive PPI: its effect on patient knowledge, feelings, and behavior.

The distribution of the PPI by pharmacists is at best controversial. Although most health professionals agree that the patient has a right to receive information about drugs, they disagree on the best way to provide that information. Since the oral contraceptive PPI has been in routine use for approximately 10 years, a large data base exists that can be used to determine not only patient acceptance of the PPI, but also knowledge, feelings, and behavior secondary to the PPI. In this study, 50 women of childbearing age completed a questionnaire, and it was learned that 84 percent had taken or were currently taking oral contraceptives, and 90 percent of those received a PPI; however, only 61 percent of these women read all of it. The women performed poorly on the knowledge exam (mean +/- SD, 44.5 +/- 21.2, range, 0-83 percent); those who read all of the PPI or who were white had higher scores (p less than 0.02 and p less than 0.001, respectively). Thirty-eight percent of the women thought that the PPI information was inadequate, suggesting that it needs to be rewritten and/or supplemented with information from pharmacists. After reading the PPI, 12 percent contacted their pharmacist for additional information. Pharmacists are in a unique position to provide oral contraceptive information that enables women to make informed judgments regarding benefit:risk ratios on a personal basis.

A pharmacy student searches for psychological predictors of patient compliance.

Pharmacists are becoming more involved in patient counseling and dosage regimen design in an attempt to improve patient compliance. A study was designed and implemented by an undergraduate pharmacy student in an attempt to gain experience in research methodology and to enhance individual clinical involvement. Forty patients, randomly selected at a community pharmacy and a family practice clinic, were administered a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator exam to assess the patient's degree of systematic preference. Refill dates for each patient's hypertensive medications were examined for six months in order to infer compliance. Results of the psychological exam did not accurately predict patient compliance or noncompliance. The student working with only minimal faculty guidance was able to design, implement, analyze, and describe the study. Colleges of pharmacy are encouraged to implement similar clinical research training projects for undergraduate students.