ABSTRACT
An interesting aspect of the warning process occurs when people pick up a prescription drug at a pharmacy. In many cases, these medications are accompanied by a patient package insert (PPI). PPIs contain detailed information about the nature of a drug, potential side effects, prescriptions and proscriptions for use, and a wealth of other details about the chemical makeup of the drug. PPIs are similar in scope and detail to the information contained in drug reference books (e.g.,
Physician’s Desk Reference
). One look at these documents will tell you that they are not designed for the layperson, but rather they are designed to provide the kinds of information and the level of detail that would primarily benefit an individual with substantial medical training. Because of the level of sophistication required to acquire relevant information from PPIs, pharmacies will often provide a briefer and simpler summary of the relevant information for use by the lay customer. The purpose of the summary is to provide the end user with the most important information necessary to use the drug properly.
