| Summary: | Background: Patient knowledge on medication is considered a critical aspect of medication self-management by the patient. Medication education and counseling is an important component of pharmaceutical care services. Objective: This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of medication education and counseling services offered to ambulatory patients receiving care in a typical Nigerian healthcare setting on the patients' knowledge of their medication. Methods: A cross sectional prospective study conducted at the outpatient pharmacy unit of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The patient population was divided into two arms: those who were yet to receive medication education/counseling – Arm 1, and those who had received medication education/counseling from the clinical pharmacist – Arm 2. A patient medication knowledge assessment questionnaire was used to assess patients' knowledge of their prescribed medication. Data obtained were analyzed using the IBM SPSS computer package version 25.0. Results: Three hundred and ninety-one outpatients (196 in Arm-1 and 195 in Arm-2) participated in the study. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean medication knowledge score between patients in Arm-1 and those in Arm-2. Patients in Arm-2 had a statistically significant higher mean medication knowledge score than those in Arm-1 (5.228 versus 3.191; t = 10.152; P = 0.000). Conclusion: Outpatients who received medication education and counseling from clinical pharmacists had better knowledge of their prescribed medications than those who were yet to receive this pharmaceutical intervention.
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