A study of patients' perceived importance of medication information provided by physicians in a health maintenance organization.

A study was done to determine perceived importance of medication information and the kind of information provided to patients in an outpatient setting. A scale describing 14 points of medication information was used prior to the physician's visit in one study phase and afterwards in the second phase. Results showed that patients perceived all 14 items to be important but rated precautions to observe, drug interactions, and adverse effects most highly. Also, less than half the time was information considered highly important by patients provided by their physicians.