Ask doctors about your treatment, patients told
pharmafile | May 20, 2008 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
Patients would benefit by getting more involved with their treatment, asking questions and raising concerns with their doctors, according to a new report.
Finding The Balance has been jointly produced by industry association the ABPI and the Long-term Conditions Alliance and calls for patients to be given better information about their treatment.
Industry-produced information about medicines is freely available online, but it is published across a number of different websites, making it difficult for patients to access.
Finding The Balance recommends pharma companies create a dedicated section on their websites where all the information available to the public could be held. This could include (or provide links to): Patient Information Leaflets, clinical trial registers and medicine guides.
The report says a lack of patient understanding often leads to poor compliance and concludes that informed patients benefit from better health outcomes.
ABPI Medical Director Dr Richard Tiner said there is no 'one-size-fits-all' treatment for any condition and that patients need to work with prescribers to determine which treatments will work best for them.
"While many health professionals may recognise the importance of patient involvement, time constraints mean that modern GPs often fail to prioritise such discussions. Steps need to be taken to ensure that informed patients become a reality, embedded in the culture of medical practice," he added.
In addition to encouraging patients to become involved in the development of their treatment plans, the report aims to generate discussions among health professionals on how best to inform patients.
One suggestion is for nurses and local pharmacists to play a more active role in patient treatment and for doctors' surgeries to be equipped with 'patient information corners'.
Finding the Balance can be found online at www.abpi.org.uk
