Catalina Health finds near-total interest in simplified medication information

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Results of a survey indicate a positive response among patients to redesigned patient medication information distributed to patients at retail pharmacy chains in two states as part of an eight-week program.

Catalina Health said it launched the eight-week quality improvement initiative in August 2012 to disseminate the information focusing on three medications dispensed in stores in an unnamed "leading pharmacy chain" in California and Michigan.

Results of the initiative showed that 90% of patients recalled receiving the new information and considered it useful. The purpose of the QI initiative was to provide patients with clearer medication information when they pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy.

"This eight-week project demonstrates that patients want, read and keep a single page of information about their prescriptions that is written in an easy-to-understand format rather than multiple pages of complex medical text," Catalina Health president Renee Selman said. "Catalina Health is committed to providing patients clearer information, and we are proud to have led this pharmacy pilot with our healthcare partners."

Results, collected in a telephone survey of patients, showed equal recall rates among men and women and among all age groups. In addition, new patients were more likely to read and to keep the patient medication information, and those aged 18 to 40 said they would prefer to have it delivered electronically in addition to receiving a single-page information sheet in the pharmacy and would like having a pharmacist explain it.

In addition to Catalina Health, the initiative included experts at Duke University, Emory University, Northwestern University, Purdue University, the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Effectiveness Research, the Food and Drug Administration, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.