Has your doctor changed your medications recently? What about prescribing a new drug altogether? If so, did your doctor tell you all you need to know about that drug? Probably not according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
An observational study conducted by Dr. Derjung Tarn from the School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) finds that physicians often fail to communicate critical information about new prescription medication to patients. The missing critical information included a disclosure of side-effects and proper dosing. The lesson to be learned by the informed patient – ask you doctor about proper dosing, side-effects, interactions with other medications you are taking, what to do about missed doses, etc.
Read an abstract of the study here.