Did you know most Americans fail to ask questions about their medicines, and half don’t use their medicines as prescribed? With almost four billion prescriptions filled last year, the potential for medicine mistakes is mind-boggling and often, lethal. It’s estimated that 1.5 million people become sick or injured and over 100,000 die from medicine errors each year.

Solving the problem is complicated as there are many moving parts and steps in the process where things can go wrong. Yet experts agree there are two common elements to improving the situation: shared communication and shared responsibility. All stakeholders—healthcare providers, pharmacists, and patients or caregivers must share information and responsibility to eliminate medication errors. However, as the patient may be the single common thread in the healthcare continuum, much of the responsibility falls on the patient.

We at CNCA know how important this issue is to your health and wellbeing, so in conjunction with national “Talk About Prescriptions Month” we’re sharing some basic tips and guidelines for medication safety from the National Council on Patient Information and Education.

Four Ways to be Smart and Safe with Medicines:

1. Share information with healthcare practitioners

Because prescription medications can interact with over-the-counter medications and supplements, it’s important to let healthcare practitioners know about all the medicines, vitamins, herbals, and dietary supplements you’re taking. This includes:

• Prescription medicines.
• Medicines you can buy without a prescription, such as aspirin, diet pills, antacids, laxatives, allergy medicine, and cough medicine.
• Vitamins and other dietary or herbal supplements such as St. John’s Wort or ginkgo biloba.

Other health conditions or concerns can also impact drug options. Be sure to tell your healthcare team:

• If you have allergies (including medicine-related allergies) or if you have had problems when taking a medicine
• If other doctors or health professionals who have prescribed medicine for you or suggested that you take a vitamin or herbal supplement
• If you are pregnant, may get pregnant, or are nursing
• About any other illness or medical condition, like diabetes or high blood pressure
• If cost is a concern as there may be another medicine that costs less and will work the same

2. Get the facts about your medicine

Ask questions about every new prescription medicine. Get the answers you need from your healthcare team before you take your medicine. If your doctor writes your prescription by hand, make sure you can read it. If you can’t read your doctor’s handwriting, your pharmacist might not be able to either. If your doctor submits your prescription directly to the pharmacy, ask for a copy. Ask your doctor to write down on the prescription why you need the medicine. For example, not just “take once a day” but “take once a day for high blood pressure.” If you have other questions or concerns:

• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
• Write questions down ahead of time and bring them to your appointment. By asking questions now, you may prevent problems later.

Questions to ask before you take your medicine:

1. Why am I taking this medicine?
2. What are the brand name and generic name of this medicine?
3. Can I take a generic version of this medicine?
4. Does this new prescription mean I should stop taking other medicines?
5. How much of the medicine should I take and how often do I take it? If I need to take it three times a day, does that mean at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or every 8 hours? Do I need to wake up in the middle of the night to take it?
6. Do I need to take it all or should I stop when I feel better?
7. How long will I take it? Can I get a refill? How often can I get a refill?
8. How should I store my medication? Do I need to keep it in the refrigerator?
9. Are there any tests I need while I’m on this medicine?
10. When should the medicine start working? How can I tell if it’s working?
11. Are there foods, drinks (including alcohol), other medicines, or activities to avoid while I’m taking this medicine?
12. What are the side effects? When should I tell the doctor about a problem or side effect?
13. What should I do if I have a side effect?
14. What happens if I miss a dose?
15. What printed information can you give me about this medicine

Medication Tips:

• Write your questions down ahead of time. Keep a list of questions you want to ask your health care team. Take the list to your appointment.
• Be sure to write down what your health care team tells you about your medicine so you remember later.
• Bring a friend or family member with you when you visit the doctor. Talking over what to do with someone you trust can help you make better decisions.
• Try to use the same pharmacy so all your prescription records will be in one place.
• Read and save the information that comes with your medicine. It’s often stapled to the bag from the pharmacy.
• Keep a list of all the medicines, vitamins, and dietary supplements or herbs you take. Add new medicines to the list when you start taking something new or when a dose changes. Show the list to your doctor and the pharmacist.
• Make a copy of your list. Keep one copy and give the other to a family member or friend.
• Store all medicines together in one designated location in a dry and cool place. The kitchen and the bathroom are bad places to store medicine because of heat and moisture.
• Make sure medicine does not freeze if you store it in the refrigerator.
• Throw away any medicine that has expired or that your doctor has discontinued. (Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice on how to throwaway your specific medication.)

Check back tomorrow for part 2 of this post to learn more tips to prevent medication mistakes including what medical records you should keep on hand. Sources

National Council on Patient Information and Education

MSN Health