Relationship between Medication Communication Index (MCI) and Patients’ Reports about Physician and Medication
| Report | No. | Mean MCI Score (SD) | R2 | P Valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| About physician | ||||
| Communication about new medication | 108 | 0.13 | .003 | |
| What medicine is called (about right) | 100 | 3.45 (1.2) | .17 | |
| What medicine is called (insufficient) | 4 | 3.75 (1.0) | ||
| What medicine is for (about right) | 102 | 3.44 (1.2) | <.0 01 | |
| What medicine is for (insufficient) | 1 | 4 (-) | ||
| Why medicine is important to take (about right) | 87 | 3.51 (1.2) | .42 | |
| Why medicine is important to take (insufficient) | 13 | 2.96 (1.4) | ||
| How to take the medicine (about right) | 92 | 3.50 (1.2) | .87 | |
| How to take the medicine (insufficient) | 7 | 3.14 (1.4) | ||
| How long to take medicine (about right) | 89 | 3.60 (1.2) | .03 | |
| How long to take medicine (insufficient) | 11 | 2.27 (1.3) | ||
| How to get further medicine supply | 69 | 3.54 (1.2) | ||
| (if applicable) (about right) | .71 | |||
| How to get further medicine supply | 12 | 3.79 (1.3) | ||
| (if applicable) (insufficient) | ||||
| Whether medicine has side effects (about right) | 72 | 3.78 (1.1) | .02 | |
| Whether medicine has side effects (insufficient) | 28 | 2.80 (1.3) | ||
| Risks of getting side effects (about right) | 61 | 3.81 (1.1) | <.0 01 | |
| Risks of getting side effects (insufficient) | 41 | 2.84 (1.3) | ||
| What to do if side effects occur (about right) | 61 | 3.83 (1.1) | <.001 | |
| What to do if side effects occur (insufficient) | 36 | 2.88 (1.3) | ||
| Interactions with other medicines (about right) | 59 | 3.70 (1.1) | .07 | |
| Interactions with other medicines (insufficient) | 38 | 3.05 (1.3) | ||
| About new medication | ||||
| Planning to take new medication | 104 | 3.45 (1.2) | .46 | |
| Not planning to take new medication | 3 | 2.83 (1.8) | ||
| Certainty about taking new medication | 108 | 0.01 | .62 | |
| Importance of new medication | 108 | <0.01 | .76 | |
| Worry about condition medication is for | 108 | 0.03 | .11 |
Note: The MCI is a 5-point index calculated by assigning 1 point to each of the following elements if they are discussed during an office visit: medication name, purpose of use, duration of use, potential side effects. Counseling about the number of tablets or sprays and how often to use a medication is given 0.5 points each.
↵a P value describes differences between MCI scores for categorical variables, and relationship between MCI and patient reports for continuous variables.