Patient information and medication labelling

Abstract

In this era of consumer awareness, the field of health care is still an area of concern. This is especially so when it comes to the quality and extent of information given by the pharmaceutical industry to both health professionals and patients. This article highlights certain ethical considerations in the current practice of communicating medication information, in order to sensitise readers to issues of drug labelling, and to promote the need for better patient information about drugs. Medication labelling is the most common method of patient information. Issues such as what constitutes an ideal label, whether all ingredients need to be mentioned and whether too much information is detrimental will be discussed. Special considerations for a country like India, where literacy levels are poor and multiple systems of medicine exist, will also be addressed.