Use Phenomenologies: What Does the User Do with the Secondary Medicine Packaging and Package Leaflet?

This chapter supplements the remarks contained in the paragraph The role of medicine packaging in dispensing of this text. In that context, we addressed the important role that secondary packaging plays in the dispensing process, especially in terms of its informational connotations. In this chapter, we look instead at the dynamics of patient use, once the medicine has entered the context of everyday use. In addition to the informational aspects, functional aspects such as opening, closing, containing, storing etc. come into play. It is in the relationship with the patient that the secondary pack demonstrates its informational and usage effectiveness. The medicines under analysis were ‘taken’ from the contexts of use under observation. To return the problems observed, the mode of illustration was chosen, eliminating the medicine’s identifying marks, while leaving the description of the problematic elements, from our point of view, relating to information and form, which were returned in ‘anonymous’ form.