'They're not alone in being confused': Nearly 1 in 3 Americans struggle with prescription labels — and mistakes can cost them hundreds in extra bills

Even a fairly minor medication error can add up financially. A follow-up appointment, a new prescription to correct side effects or an avoidable trip to urgent care can easily turn into hundreds of dollars in unexpected healthcare costs, especially without full coverage.

A recent study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine looked at how well patients actually understand and use the health information they’re given. Researchers found that even basic instructions can be harder to follow than expected, especially when people are under pressure, distracted or trying to remember too much at once.

When a prescription label doesn’t tell the whole story

The study took a closer look at something that sounds simple on paper — whether people can actually understand and use medical instructions once they leave the doctor’s office.

Researchers followed 942 primary care patients, with an average age of 52, and put them through a series of real-world tasks. Instead of just asking questions, they were asked to work through scenarios that felt a lot like an actual doctor’s appointment: a new diagnosis, a short recall test and a mock prescription bottle exercise to see how well they could interpret dosing instructions and labels.

What stood out wasn’t just that people got things wrong — it was how quickly the details slipped from their minds. Within about 10 minutes, many participants were already struggling to accurately remember or apply what they had just been told. And that gap, between hearing instructions in a clinic and actually carrying them out correctly at home, is where a lot of problems tend to start.

As Abigail Vogeley, a research fellow and doctoral student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and coauthor of the study, told CNN: “They’re not alone in being confused by the healthcare system and by medications. It’s something that us, as the healthcare system, need to improve and help people with rather than just saying, ‘OK, good luck.’”

The broader takeaway fits with what a lot of research in health literacy has been pointing to for years — that being able to understand medical information isn’t a “nice-to-have,” it directly affects outcomes. People with lower health literacy are more likely to end up back in hospital, visit the emergency room or run into higher overall healthcare costs.

There’s also a quieter financial side to all of this. When instructions aren’t clear, the costs don’t always show up right away — but they tend to surface later through wasted prescriptions, repeat treatments or complications that need extra care. And even in fairly routine situations, those add-ons can get expensive fast.

The ripple effects can also be surprisingly practical. A small misunderstanding — taking something at the wrong time, doubling up on a dose by accident or confusing two similar prescriptions — can lead to side effects or make the medication less effective. Sometimes it even throws off a whole daily routine, with people unintentionally spreading doses through the night or overcomplicating what should have been a simple schedule.

What you can do when medication instructions feel overwhelming

When medication instructions start to feel like a lot, it usually helps to try and get clarity right then and there.

A lot of people don’t ask the obvious questions in the moment, but that’s often what can clear things up. Something as simple as, “So how do I actually take this on a normal day?” or “What do people usually get wrong about this one?” can get you more useful info than what’s printed on the label.

And pharmacists are worth leaning on. They see the same prescriptions come through over and over, and they’re usually quick to flag anything that might be confusing or easy to misread once you’re on your own.

Outside of appointments, keeping a running list of everything you’re taking — like prescriptions, vitamins or the occasional over-the-counter stuff — saves you from relying on memory when things are rushed or scattered.