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Section 4 - Providing Information

Introduction

Section 4 of the Prescribing Safety Assessment focuses on patient counselling when prescribing medications. In this section, you’ll determine the essential information to share with a patient starting a new medication, taking into account their medical history, personal background, and the specifics of the drug. The scope of this section is broad and often overlaps with Section 6 (Adverse Drug Reactions) and Section 7 (Drug Monitoring). While we will explore a wide range of medications, it’s important not to feel overwhelmed. Familiarising yourself with commonly discussed drugs (which we’ve highlighted) and developing a systematic approach for tackling unfamiliar scenarios will help you succeed.

Question Style	MCQ - select 1 option from list of 5
Total Questions	6
Marks per Question	2 (Total of 12 marks)
Advised Time per Question	1 minute

Example Question

Case presentation

A 24-year-old man presents to his GP with low mood and suicidal ideation. His wife is also present. PMH. GORD. DH. Omeprazole 20 mg PO daily. SH. Recently made redundant as a computer engineer.

He is advised to commence treatment with sertraline 50 mg PO daily. Review is organised for one week’s time.

Prescribing request

Select the most important information option that should be provided for the patient and his wife.
(Mark it with a tick)

INFORMATION OPTIONS

His suicidal ideation may worsen in the first 4 weeks after starting sertraline

The antidepressant effects of the medication may not become noticeable for 6 weeks

The dose of sertraline can be increased, if necessary, after several weeks

There may be nausea during the first week after starting sertraline

Withdrawal symptoms may occur if he stops his sertraline abruptly

Source: PSA

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