Patients who are already taking multiple medications daily may be ______ about adding another prescription to their regimen, especially if...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Patients who are already taking multiple medications daily may be ______ about adding another prescription to their regimen, especially if the new drug requires frequent monitoring and has potential interactions with their existing treatments.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
optimistic
informed
cautious
consulted
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Patients who are already taking multiple medications daily" |
|
| "may be ______" |
|
| "about adding another prescription to their regimen," |
|
| "especially if the new drug requires frequent monitoring and has potential interactions with their existing treatments." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map: [PATIENT CONTEXT: Already on multiple daily meds] → [SITUATION: Being asked to add another prescription] → [COMPLICATING FACTORS: Requires monitoring + potential interactions] → [MISSING: Patient's logical emotional response]
Main Point: Patients already managing complex medication regimens face additional concerns when asked to add new prescriptions that create monitoring and interaction complications.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes patients who already have complicated medication routines, presents them with the prospect of adding another drug, then highlights specific concerns (monitoring requirements and drug interactions) that would naturally influence their attitude toward this addition.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The missing word should describe how patients would naturally feel about adding another prescription when they're already managing multiple daily medications, the new drug requires frequent monitoring, and there are potential interactions with existing treatments
- These factors would logically make patients hesitant, careful, or wary about the addition
- The word should reflect a reasonable, prudent response to legitimate medical concerns
optimistic
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests patients would be hopeful about adding the medication, which contradicts the logical response to monitoring requirements and interaction risks
informed
✗ Incorrect
- Describes patients' knowledge level rather than their emotional attitude
- The passage isn't about whether patients know the facts, but how they'd react to them
cautious
✓ Correct
- Perfectly captures the careful, prudent attitude patients would have
- Aligns with the logical response to frequent monitoring and interaction concerns
consulted
✗ Incorrect
- This describes an action done to patients, not their attitude
- Doesn't fit grammatically in the sentence structure