Improving prescription drug warnings to promote patient comprehension.

Background: Prior studies have documented a high prevalence of patients who misunderstand prescription drug warning labels, placing them at risk for medication error. We evaluated whether the use of "enhanced print" drug warnings could improve patient comprehension beyond a current standard.

Methods: An evaluation of enhanced print warning labels was conducted at 2 academic and 2 community health primary care clinics in Chicago, Illinois, and Shreveport, Louisiana.