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Table 2 Key theme points identified

From: What do Australian consumers, pharmacists and prescribers think about documenting indications on prescriptions and dispensed medicines labels?: A qualitative study

Theme

Key Points

Potential benefits

• Reminder to take medications

• Help when picking up medications on behalf of someone else

• Useful with non-tablet medications (e.g. creams)

• May encourage health checks

• Medication reconciliation

• Helps with the management of a patient in emergency situations

• Helps when medication has multiple indications

Potential limitations

• Privacy concerns

• Overcrowding of the label

• Prescriber difficulty with defining/clarifying indication

Describing the Indication

• Medical terminology may make consumer take condition more seriously

• Treatment specificity preferred with anti-infectives

Potential Safety Benefits

• May reduce confusion with generic brand substitutions

• Helps health-care professional match dose to indication

• May reduce look-alike sound-alike errors