Explain treatment to patient
Before giving a patient a first prescription for a drug, the doctor should explain several points. He should make clear what effects are likely to be experienced on first taking the drug, e.g. drowsiness or dry mouth. He should also explain how long it will be before therapeutic effects appear and what the first signs are likely to be, e.g. improved sleep after starting a tricyclic antidepressant. He should name any serious effects that must be reported by the patient, such as, coarse tremor after taking lithium.
Finally, he should indicate how long the patient need to take the drug. For some drug such as anxiolytics, the latter information is goven to discourage the patient from taking them for too long; for others, such as antidepressants, it is given to deter the patient from stopping too soon.
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Just thought of bringing another point.
When explaining the treatment to the patient, it is not enough to name the diagnosis. He may misunderstand its menaing or make false assumptions about the implication for prognosis, eg. that all patient with schizophrenia have a rapidly downhill course. The interviewer should explain the significance of the diagnosis in terms of cause, prognosis and possiblities for treatment. Technical terms should be avoided or, if essential, explained.