The information that a patient receives when starting a new medicine can feel overwhelming, particularly if they have received a diagnosis of a condition that is new to them at the same time. Asking this question gives embarrassment-free permission to ask for some key information to be repeated, which could make all the difference in terms of their confidence in – and hence compliance with – their new medicine.

The patient may not have any more questions so suggest they make a note of any that occur in the future and come back to ask them, rather than abruptly stopping their medicine.

Signposting to relevant resources is a useful way of building knowledge and gaining support.The ROS can be accessed here. Information is also available at on the NHS website.