Research: SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLETS SUPPLIED BY THE PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS

Written information play a significant role in supplementing and reinforcing information provided by healthcare professionals. Patient information leaflets (PILs), an inexpensive form of written information which aids the patients and their caregivers to understand the disease and medication. However, poorly designed leaflets may lead to lack of adherence to the proposed treatment. Information in PILs must confirm to the highest standards of scientific accuracy, comprehensive, and designed in a way that is easy to read and understand. Hence, the primary aim of the present study was to assess the quality of patient information leaflet supplied by pharmaceutical manufacturers with respect to readability, design and contents. The study included 35 PILs collected from patients, community pharmacies and hospitals. Readability of PILs was assessed using flesch readability ease formula and flesch kincaid grade level formula. Design and contents of PILs were assessed using predefined score table. The study results showed that 88% of the PILs had reading difficulty, 74% of the PILs had poor design and 60 % of the PILs did not have the necessary information.