Medicine labels should have better wording to keep patients safe research finds

Medicine labels should have better wording to make sure that patients understand their instructions.

The British National Formulary (BNF) is calling for clearer labeling following research carried out by  Professor Theo Raynor, Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Leeds, and his colleagues at Luto Research.

The research found patients were misinterpreting or misunderstanding the printed instructions.

Professor Raynor said: “Most medicines do contain leaflets which provide detailed information for patients. However the leaflet may get lost which means that the label on the medicine plays a very important part in guiding people’s behaviour. It is vital therefore that wordings on labels are simple and straightforward.”

Proposed changes include making sure wording is clearly understood after user-testing found that the word “drowsiness” caused confusion. 

Changing this to the wording “this medicine may make you sleepy” is believed to improve patient understanding.

More precise instructions to avoid different interpretation is also recommended, which would see the wording “Avoid alcoholic drink” changed to “Do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine.”

Professor Nick Barber, Professor of Pharmacy at London University, says: “When serious errors occur which cause harm to patients, it is often as a result of a series of minor failures at various stages. Therefore in taking more care about the wording of detailed instructions we can help improve the safety of medicines. With two million prescriptions being issued every day, a small percentage improvement through labels being more understandable could make a significant impact”.