Don't ask, don't know.

At face value, one would think that being “put on a new medication” would prompt patients to ask their doctor a few questions. Why do I need this medication? What are the side effects? How should I take it? What about other medications I am taking? When can I stop taking it?

If you think that way… you would be wrong.

A 2008 study was based on 181 patients who were prescribed a new medication by their primary care physician or a cardiologist during an office visit. In total, patients initiated 199 questions or comments (1.09 per patient) based upon a coding of audio tapes of each patient visit.

The following table shows a breakdown of the frequency of patient questions by type and duration of patient talk time (in seconds) associated with each question topic.

Full article here