APhA 2007: Krueger/Kobulnicky Poster

Janelle Krueger answers questions during the APhA poster presentation. Not pictured is co-author Carol Kobulnicky.

One of three UW School of Pharmacy posters presented during the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting and Exposition held March 16-20, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia featured research by Janelle Krueger and Carol Kobulnicky to identify the types of prescription drug information that community pharmacy patients' want to receive from their pharmacists.

"Identifying Medication Information Desired By Community Based Patients", Janelle L. Krueger, M.S., clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice and Carol J. H. Kobulnicky, Ph.D., assistant professor of social and administrative pharmacy; presented at APhA by Janelle Krueger.

The researchers examined the types of prescription drug information that community pharmacy patients' want to receive from their pharmacist and what may inhibit them from asking questions in this setting. A secondary objective was to create an active learning activity by involving pharmacy students in the data collection process to learn first hand about patient expectations and subsequently bring this "real world" information into course discussions. Adult patients of two local community pharmacies were surveyed by pharmacy students who were on-site as part of an experiential course. When obtaining new prescriptions patients were most desiring of information related to potential adverse effects and drug interactions. This was especially true with younger and more highly educated patients. While 42% of patients receiving prescription refills seemed uninterested in receiving any information at that time, a number of patients did comment on their desire to be engaged by the pharmacist when picking up a refill (e.g. reviewing instructions, asking how it was working). Both patient factors (e.g. embarrassment, lack of initiative) and pharmacist factors (e.g. unapproachability, lack of credibility) prevent patients from asking their pharmacist questions.

Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007