Drug pictograms can improve compliance
A “universally acceptable” system of pictograms to supplement
spoken directions and written labels in emergencies has been developed
by the Military and Emergency Pharmacy Section (MEPS) of the International
Pharmaceutical Federation.
The system was developed because poor communication between prescribers
and patients can cause confusion over the correct use of medicines in
emergency situations. It was presented during the World Congress of Pharmacy
and Pharmaceuticals in Cairo earlier this month.
FIP says the initiative, which originated with the military members of
the MEPS, is based on a story-board concept and covers the indications,
dosages, frequency and special instructions associated with a medicine.
Cultural issues are taken into consideration. FIP believes that the initiative
will increase compliance with medication at low cost.
An extensive field trial was undertaken recently to test and evaluate
the scheme in collaboration with the Canadian African Health Alliance
with a group of around 500 patients. With one exception, all the pictograms
tested reached the European Commission’s standard of more than
80 per cent
comprehension.
The vision is for medicines packaging to be labelled with graphics, which
are highlighted to indicate their full meaning. For example, a silhouette
of a human figure can be marked to show the part of the body being treated.
The time of day to take the medicine is shown with pictures of the sun
and the moon, and the number of tablets to be taken indicated pictorially.
FIP hopes to produce sets of pictographic labels in collaboration with
the International Pharmacy Students Federation. The project is being
handled through the FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Practice and is being
offered to the World Health Organization for further development.
Notice-board, p366 |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader