Following the article published in July 2026, asking the question as to whether patient information leaflets are working for patients, I felt I would like to respond on behalf of Choice and Medication, where I am currently employed as lead content author.
Choice and Medication provides patient information for those individuals who require medication for mental health issues. We pride ourselves on providing this information in a variety of formats to suit different needs, ranging from a comprehensive summary on a webpage through to very easy-to-read leaflets, which use pictograms to provide the information and translations into several different languages.
As a company, we are completely independent of the pharmaceutical industry and free of the heavily controlled legal requirements placed on the industry when they produce their leaflets. As a result of this, we are able to discuss unlicensed and off-label uses of medications and, in fact, have been able to produce resources very quickly recently when UK shortages have led to trusts importing unlicensed medications.
As a web-based resource, our literature is available at the point of prescribing and allows a patient to be able to make an informed choice regarding their medication as they may be given a number of leaflets allowing them to assess the differences in benefits and side effects — the importance of which varies significantly from one person to another. These leaflets are in a number of different formats that suit different patient groups.
There is also a range of other resources available, including handy charts, which provide comparisons of key side effects, perinatal leaflets, which support choice for those who wish to conceive or are already pregnant or breastfeeding, handy fact sheets, which provide useful information on several of useful topics, and, as previously mentioned, a range of translated leaflets. The resources can be printed and handed to patients or emailed for them to read later. As a clinician, I used them in practice for many years before joining the company and have always found that they are well received by patients and staff alike.
We have a weekly RADAR system, which checks for recent updates and allows us to be extremely responsive to new information and warnings, including coroners’ recommendations.
As a result of all this, our resources are current, meaningful and in language that can be easily understood.
We have been re-accredited by PIF TICK for a second year, showing our commitment to ensuring that we provide evidence-based, up-to-date and easy-to-read information, which is comprehensive and independently produced.
This, along with our quick response to customer feedback and close working with the College of Mental Health Pharmacists, I believe makes us a unique resource in the support of mental healthcare.
I believe that our resources support patients to make an informed choice at the point of prescribing. We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to support future developments in the provision of patient information so that we can share our experiences.
Amanda Parkinson, lead content author at Choice and Medication
