Patient counseling is the practice of educating patients on how to improve their health. It involves providing medication information orally or in written form to the patients or their representatives on directions of use, advice on side effects, precautions, storage, diet, and lifestyle modifications. The goal of patient counseling is to optimize patient drug use, prevent drug interactions and adverse drug reactions, and ensure that patients become informed, efficient, and active participants in disease treatment and self-care management.

Patient counseling typically consists of three stages: introduction, process content and issues regarding manner, and conclusion. During the introduction stage, the pharmacist reviews the patients record, introduces themselves, explains the purpose of counseling, obtains drug-related information such as allergies and use of herbals, and assesses the patients understanding of the reasons for therapy. In the process content and issues regarding manner stage, the pharmacist provides information on the medicines generic and brand name, how it helps the patient, how it makes them feel, and how long it takes to begin working. They use language that the patient understands, appropriate counseling aids, and present facts and concepts in simple words and in logical order. Finally, during the conclusion stage, the pharmacist verifies the patients understanding by means of feedback, summarizes by emphasizing key points, and gives an opportunity for the patient to ask questions.

Patient counseling is a critical component of the nursing profession, and it empowers patients, helping them improve their health and become more involved in their own care. Effective patient counseling can prevent conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and lead to positive outcomes. Pharmacists and nurses are typically trained to perform patient counseling throughout educational programs and medical training.