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52 CPD ACTIVITY The pharmacist’s role in improving health literacy in older people 1.5 CPD CREDITS FROM PAGE 51 storage information, food and drug interactions and possible side-effects. Although it’s common practice to provide patients with verbal information, the use of written medicines information (WMI – commonly a consumer medicines information leaflet) to supplement verbal information has been shown to promote patient understanding and health literacy. Some of the barriers to the provision of WMI are time constraints, format of the WMI and underestimation of patient interest in receiving WMI.22 To address these barriers, pharmacists should:22 • Be aware of where to access reliable written information. • Be able to use WMI as a tool to guide verbal patient counselling. • Highlight key information in WMI. • Promote patient use and awareness of WMI. • Some reliable and accessible sources of medicines information that can be provided to patients include: • The Medicines.org.au website – medicines.org.au/ • National Prescribing Service (NPS) website – nps.org.au/ • Product Information provided by the manufacture in the medicine packaging/box. • Consumers can also call Medicines Line on 1300 888 763 (Monday-Friday 9am-6pm AEST – local call cost applies) and in their free time they can talk to an available pharmacist. • Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Self-Care Cards – psa.org. au/programs/self-care/#1536388041075-3459294e-7050 • CMIs available through dispensing software. It’s important that pharmacists provide older patients with simple, clear and up-to-date information about their health and medicines. Information available from the above-mentioned websites can be printed and used as educational tools in combination with verbal medicine information and instructions. Conclusion As the most accessible healthcare professionals, pharmacists play a vital role in promoting a conducive health literacy environment through actively participating in health literacy interventions and patient-centred care. Older people often take numerous medicines for chronic conditions, and it’s important they have an adequate understanding of their medicines and participate in safe medicine- taking practices. This article highlights some of the practical and convenient ways in which pharmacists can contribute to improved health literacy in older people. Pharmacists should first try to establish the patient’s health literacy level and then use this to tailor patient education, addressing knowledge gaps and promoting patient access, understanding and use of health- related information and services. Accreditation Number: A2103RP2. This activity has been accredited for 0.75 hours of Group 1 CPD (or 0.75 CPD credits) suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist’s CPD plan, which can be converted to 0.75 hours of Group 2 CPD (or 1.5 CPD credits) upon successful completion of relevant assessment activities. 1. Several definitions of health literacy have been proposed over the past four decades. In 2014, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care proposed health literacy can be classified into two components: A) Reading and numeracy. B) Cognitive and social skills. C) Individual and health literacy environment. D) Communication and self-efficacy. 2. Which of the following is unlikely to adversely impact on the health literacy of an older person? A) Hearing difficulties. B) Age-related forgetfulness. C) Confusion over medicine brand substitution. D) Easy-to-read dispensary labels. 3. Mr CY is a 68-year-old male diagnosed with hypertension, hypercholesteremia and diabetes. He is taking several medicines. According to the Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS), he has a score of 4. Mr CY was started on a new medicine today, for which the pharmacist has printed a CMI. When counselling Mr CY, what should the pharmacist take into consideration, based on the SILS score of 4? A) Mr CY does not need any help reading and interpreting the written information provided. B) Mr CY requires additional health literacy support when provided with written medicines information and counselling. C) Mr CY knows where to find information and always knows how to read and use this information. D) Mr CY has an adequate health literacy level to enable him to navigate the written medicine information provided. 4. The Teach-back method is a research-based health literacy intervention that can be used during the patient education and counselling process. What is the MAIN purpose of this tool? A) To provide information in a caring tone of voice and attitude. B) To communicate health information to the patient. C) To confirm that the patient clearly understood the health and medicine information provided. D) To use plain language to communicate medicine instructions. 5. Mrs SM, a 70-year-old female, consulted her general practitioner today and was prescribed atorvastatin 20mg daily. She has come to the pharmacy to fill out her script but is confused about why she needs to take this medicine, and would like more information about it. What would be the MOST appropriate counselling technique to use for Mrs SM? A) Only provide verbal counselling about atorvastatin 20mg. B) Provide a print-out of the written medicine information for atorvastatin 20mg. C) When counselling the patient suggest calling their GP for further information about atorvastatin 20mg. D) Provide verbal counselling using the printed written medicine information as an educational tool. 21 RETAIL PHARMACY • MAR 2021