Update

The importance of a readable patient leaflet for the faith in medicines

Dec 13, 2022
The importance of a readable patient leaflet for the faith in medicines

Good news regarding the confidence in medicines given by the Dutch. A recent survey by research agency Nivel, among more than 1,000 consumers and patients, shows that the Dutch give confidence in their own medicines a score of 8.2, an increase compared to a score of 7.9 in 2018. Vaccines also receive a more than sufficient score or 7.8. Confidence in corona vaccines scores slightly lower than vaccines in general, with a score of 6.8. 

The three most important things that have a positive influence on trust in medicines are: the effectiveness, how well the doctor or pharmacist informs the patient and the previous experience with the medicine. Trust in doctors and pharmacists as a source of information about medicines is still high. The confidence in the package leaflet is also high, 8 out of 10 respondents have a lot of confidence, while this was still 7 out of 10 in 2018. 

The survey shows that the confidence in medicines and vaccines is good. It is also important to maintain this confidence because if people are positive about their medicine, they will use it better. Good information remains very important, among others via the package leaflet. Therefore, it is relevant to make as much package leaflets as possible more readable and patient-friendly. 

In case you struggle to make your patient leaflets more readable and/or according to the latest QRD (Quality Review of documents) templates, feel free to ask us and we are happy to assist.

The importance of a readable patient leaflet for the faith in medicines