Evaluation of the effectiveness of pharmacist medication counseling on drug knowledge of hospitalized patients

The overall objective of this research was to determine to what extent a pharmacist's counseling can influence a patient's ability to understand a physician's prescription instruction and overall knowledge of the drugs prescribed. This research was design to to determine whether pharmacist counseling could significantly improve upon the patient's knowledge and understanding gained from physician and/or nurse counseling. A total lack of patient counseling or insufficient counseling by health professionals may result in the following: 1.) Toxicity from the medication; 2.) Patient ignorance of possible adverse reactions and inability to deal with them effectively if they occur; 3.) Failure to achieve the desired therapeutic response; 4.) Ignorance of the purpose for the medication or duration of treatment; 5.) and/or Insufficient knowledge on how to self-administer the drugs.