Physicians have said that doctors have a responsibility to tell patients the names of drugs prescribed for them including their side effects.
They also noted that patients also have the right to demand the name of drugs prescribed for them, stressing that it is wrong for doctors not to tell their patients the name of the drugs that they prescribed for them.
According to them, the era where doctors claim to know it all is over.
Speaking in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, a Public Health Physician, Dr. Austine Aipoh, urged doctors to be open to their patients, stating that the age of hiding things from patients is over.
Aipoh said, “When medical practices started in Nigeria, the doctor was behaving like he is the lord and master and would give drugs to patients without telling them their names. Right now, what we tell our colleagues and also what they are taught in medical school is that the patient has to know what he is taking.
“Apart from the patient knowing what he is taking, it also protects you as a doctor. For example, you give a drug to a patient and you don’t write the name and the patient comes back with another different complaint that may be reacting to something; he may just accuse your drug of being responsible for his problem.
“Whereas the patient may have gone to the chemist to take medication before coming to you. So, it is a two way thing.
“The doctor has a responsibility to tell the patient what he is giving to him and the patient has the right to know what he is taking because if anything happens tomorrow, you will be able to say the actual drug that you gave to the patient because it is documented.”
The physician noted that failure to tell the patient the name of the drug, could land a doctor into trouble perhaps anything goes wrong.
“There was a case the other day; the police went to harass a doctor because a woman accused him of giving her drugs that caused her to have a miscarriage whereas she actually went to the doctor bleeding.
“Luckily for the doctor, he wrote the name of the drug on the envelope that was given to the woman because the police requested to see the name of the drug. And when he brought the envelope, behold it was steroids and folic acid which everybody knows cannot affect the pregnancy. You can imagine what would have happened if the doctor had not written the name of the drug on the envelope.
“Another reason why it is important for the doctor to let the patient know the name of the drug is that the patient may not get well and may want to see another doctor or try another facility. They would want to know what the patient had taken. So, it is extremely important and necessary for doctors to write the name of the drug for patients”, he explained.
Aipoh advised patients to always ask the doctor the name of the drugs given to them if the doctor gives them the drug and the name is not there.
He reiterated, “You have the right to know what you are taking. It is not acceptable for doctors not to tell patients the name of the drugs that they give to them. We encourage patient-centred care. The patient must be aware of what you are doing for him or her.”
A former Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association Kanu State chapter, Dr. Usman Ali, also corroborated Aipoh’s statement, saying it is improper for doctors not to tell patients the name of the drugs that they give to them.
Ali called for effective communication between doctors and patients.
The NMA chairman said, “The most important thing when consulting with a patient is effective communication. The way a doctor communicates with the patient matters. Effective communication is part of medical training. The effective communication also applies to the drugs you are going to give to patients.
“Many doctors even explain to patients, sometimes how the drugs will affect the system and how the system can affect the drug.
However, there are individual differences. It is unacceptable for any doctor not to tell the patient the name of the drug he is giving to him or her. It is something that needs to be reviewed. If you communicate effectively with the patients, the issue of not telling patients the name of the drug will not even arise”, he said.
Ali also notes that it is not right for a doctor to be angry or feel irritated when a patient seeks to know the details of the drug given to him.
“The patients have a right to ask. It is improper for the doctor to be angry because the patient inquired to know. It is trust that brought the patient to you”, the chemical pathologist said.
Credit: Punch
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