Pharmacy services improvement by using pictorial medication summary sheet and sample unit dose of drug in Sungkhlaburi Hospital, Kanchanaburi Province

Abstract

Objectives: To study the effect of enhancing patient overall understanding of medication use through the development of pharmaceutical services using pictorial medication summary and unit-dose packaging on medication adherence.

Methods: This research and development study consisted of two phases: Phase 1 involved the development of pictorial medication summary, with 30 participants. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.Phase2 aimed to evaluate the effects of the pictorial medication summaries combined with unit-dose packaging on medication adherence. This phase employed a quasi-experimental study with the one-group pretest-posttest design. Medication adherence was assessed using the Medication Adherence Scale for Thais (MAST). Sixty participants were enrolled, and data were analyzed using paired t-tests.

Results: The symbol comprehension test of the seven pictograms used in the medication summary found that all symbols had an accuracy of communication exceeding 85%. Following the intervention, patients who received the pictorial medication summary and unit-dose packaging showed a statistically significant improvement in medication adherence scores(32.93 ± 1.60 vs. 34.12 ± 2.53; p<0.001).

Conclusion: Pharmacy services using pictorial medication summary and unit-dose packaging can improve patient’s medication adherence. However, there may be some limitations for patients using medications other than oral formulations.