Tips to Help Patients Avoid Medication Errors

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Tips to Help Patients Avoid Medication Errors

20 Jul 2005 Medical News Today

The safe and appropriate use of medications is essential for getting

positive results from your medications. While pharmacists strive for

an error-free environment, sometimes mistakes occur. But both the

incidence and severity of errors can be reduced dramatically by

following these simple tips from the American Pharmacists

Association:

-- Know your medicine. Know the names of the medications you take,

what the product looks like, why you take them, and how the product

might make you feel. Before you take your medication, double-check

the label and the contents. If your medication looks different or

makes you feel different, talk to your pharmacist.

-- Know your pharmacist. Your pharmacist is your medication expert,

your partner in helping make your medication work. Ask your

pharmacist to review each medication with you -- including showing

you the tablets or capsules and reviewing important information about

the product. Research shows patients are more likely to ask questions

of their pharmacist -- an important step to preventing errors -- if

they know their pharmacist's name.

-- Use ONE pharmacy. Using the same pharmacy to purchase all of your

prescription and over-the-counter medications is an important

protection. Your pharmacist is then able to monitor exactly which

medications you are taking and check on possible harmful side effects

and or drug interactions.

-- Make sure you can read your prescription. When you leave your

doctor's office with your prescriptions, make sure you can read them.

If they are illegible, ask your doctor to re-write them. Poor

handwriting is a major contributor to medication errors.

-- Read the label and follow the directions. Medications are

powerful, that's why they work. But they can cause harm as well,

particularly if they are not used correctly. Follow the directions on

the label, but be sure to call your pharmacist and your doctor if you

notice any unusual symptoms.

APhA and the nation's pharmacists are very concerned about medication

errors. The profession of pharmacy strives for an error-free

environment. Pharmacists work closely with patients, physicians, and

other health care professionals to improve medication use and advance

patient care.

American Pharmacists Association

http://www.pharmacist.com

http://www.aphanet.org