Communication Strategies Flashcards
A Spanish-speaking woman is scheduled for a follow-up appointment today to assess her recent lifestyle
changes. Two hours before her appointment, the
patient’s interpreter calls, saying he will not be in until
tomorrow because he has a family emergency. The
clinic’s receptionist, who speaks fluent Spanish, offers
to help fill in for the interpreter. Which would be the
most appropriate request for the pharmacist to make of the receptionist?
A. Step in for the interpreter during the encounter.
B. Call the patient to reschedule the appointment.
C. Ask the patient to bring a family member or
friend.
D. Explain to the patient on arrival why the interpreter will not be there.
Because this routine maintenance medication therapy
management is not an emergency, it would be best to use a professional interpreter according to the guidelines for using medical interpreters by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Therefore, only Answer B is the best option of those given.
Correct Answer: B
A pharmacist is performing a patient medication
history and would like to assess the risk of patient
nonadherence to a multidrug diabetes regimen. Which
method would be best to use for this purpose?
A. The Adherence Estimator questionnaire
B. The Morisky questionnaire
C. The Background, Affect, Troubling, Handling,
Empathy (BATHE) technique
D. Motivational Interviewing
The Morisky and the Adherence Estimator questionnaires are both methods to assess the likelihood of adherence. However, only the Morisky questionnaire is intended to evaluate adherence to one or more drugs in a regimen for a particular disease. The Adherence Estimator is used only with individual drugs. The BATHE technique or Motivational Interviewing may help identify reasons for nonadherence, but neither assesses the likelihood of
adherence.
Correct Answer: B
An older adult male patient correctly completed the
calculation in the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) questionnaire. In the package insert dispensed with his prescriptions, he was able to find relevant facts about adverse effects associated with medications he was taking. He is selecting a Medicare D program and is struggling to compare brochures from several companies to identify the best program for him on the basis of his medications. Which National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) classification is this patient
most likely in?
A. Below basic
B. Basic
C. Intermediate
D. Proficient
This patient is able to identify facts from dense text (the
package insert) and perform simple calculations, so he is at least at the intermediate literacy level. Because he is having trouble integrating and applying information from several sources, he is unlikely to be considered proficient.
Correct Answer: C
A pharmacist is considering whether a commercially
developed multimedia presentation would be appropriate to include as part of his institution’s comprehensive asthma education program for adults. Which would be the most appropriate method to evaluate the usability of this presentation?
A. Ask a multidisciplinary group of colleagues to
review the presentation’s content.
B. Evaluate the presentation by using the Suitability
Assessment of Materials (SAM) tool.
C. Assess the presentation by using the Patient
Education Materials Assessment (PEMAT) tool.
D. Play the presentation in a random classroom and
perform a survey on patient opinions of the video
after class.
The PEMAT tool would be most appropriate because it was specifically designed for assessing the usability of audiovisual materials. The SAM tool has similar criteria, but it was designed originally for written materials. Obtaining feedback from either knowledgeable colleagues or typical patients would be useful, but this may not provide a comprehensive assessment of usability.
Correct Answer: C
A pharmacist is asked to give a presentation to a group of physical therapists regarding new methods of pain management. Which topic would likely be of most
interest to this audience?
A. Mechanism of action and adverse events
B. Cost and formulary status
C. Pharmacology and pharmacokinetics
D. Dosage and administration
Whereas health care professionals typically learn at least some of the aspects of medication therapy, audiences are usually most interested in information related to their job responsibilities. Physical therapists would want to know the neuromuscular effects of a medication and their potential impact on patient movement. For example, the adverse effects of dizziness, hypotension, or sedation might impair
a patient’s ability to participate in physical therapy sessions. Because these professionals are typically not responsible for prescribing or administering pain-related medications, they would usually be less interested in cost, dosing, formulary status, or pharmacokinetics. Thus the most correct option would be Answer A.
Correct Answer: A
In performing medication reconciliation for a patient,
the pharmacist detected a discrepancy in the dosage of insulin glargine between the prescriber’s medication orders and the patient’s list. After clarifying the dosage with the prescriber, which would be the most appropriate way to document the correct dose and frequency of insulin in the patient’s medical record?
A. “Inject 15 units daily at bedtime.”
B. “Inject 15 U QD at HS.”
C. “Inject 15 units QD at HS.”
D. “Inject 15 U daily at bedtime.”
U is listed on the ISMP error-prone abbreviations list and
should not be used if possible. Units is the preferred way
to note the insulin dose. The term QD (daily) is also listed
on the ISMP list and is often mistaken as QID (four times
a day) and should not be used; daily is preferred. The Joint Commission does not state a preference with respect to HS versus bedtime; however, ISMP lists this on the error-prone list because it is often confused with half-strength and, in general, these abbreviations should be avoided.
Correct Answer: A
A pharmacist reads an editorial in the newspaper recommending the rejection of the school board’s latest policy for required vaccinations of new students. The pharmacist strongly agrees with the school board’s plan and carefully writes a 600-word rebuttal to this editorial. Which would be the most effective way to use this rebuttal to advocate for the new policy?
A. Send the rebuttal as a letter to the school board to
voice support.
B. Submit the rebuttal as a letter to the newspaper’s
editor.
C. Read the rebuttal at the next open school board
meeting.
D. Offer the rebuttal to the newspaper as an “op-ed”
piece.
Responses to editorials of between 300 and 750 words
are suitable for placement opposite the editorial (or op-ed piece). Letters to the editor can be used to respond to editorials, but they receive less visibility and generally should be fewer than 250 words. The school board would appreciate the support. Ideally, however, the pharmacist’s comments should reach the same readership as the newspaper’s original editorial. Sending them to the school board would not achieve this.
Correct Answer: D
