Only 49 per cent of people are ‘usually’ aware of the side effects of a drug before they start using it. Photo: PAHalf of patients don’t know about the potential side effects of medication before they start taking it, figures suggest.
Medicines can produce unwanted symptoms but a new poll found that only 49 per cent of people are ‘usually’ aware of the side effects of a drug before they start using it.
The poll, conducted on 2,000 UK adults on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), also found that only two in every five people read the patient information leaflet included in the drug packet.
The RPS, the professional body for pharmacists in Britain, said the survey reveals a need for patients to understand their medicines better.
Community pharmacist Paul Johnson said: “If medicines are misunderstood by patients they can become seriously ill or worse.
“Taking the wrong dose at the wrong time, using medicines or remedies that interact badly with each other or giving up medicines altogether because of side effects can have significant health consequences for individuals.
“It’s easy to forget verbal instructions about medicines when you are first diagnosed with an illness and we must help patients more. Most long-term conditions require medicines for life, and even if you start off taking them well, bad habits can creep in over time.
“We know that advice tailored to the individual and their lifestyle really works. There needs to be a refocusing of the system so pharmacists play a much bigger role in helping people with long-term conditions manage their medicines better.”