The chance of a lifetime: team up with your doctor and your pharmacist to ensure your future healthFollow these 12 easy steps and you will decrease your chance of medication errors:
• Keep a list of all medications, vitamins & over-the-counter drugs you take: what do you take, how much, how often?
• Take this list with you when you visit any doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
• Take this list with you when traveling, in case of accident or illness.
• When your doctor prescribes a new drug, have them write down the drug’s name, how much you are to take and how often to take it.
• Review prescriptions out loud with your doctor to confirm how much you are to take and when.
• Ask your doctor to write the purpose of your medication on the prescription.
• Make sure you can read the prescription that your doctor wrote. If not, have it re-written.
• Always go to the same pharmacy to keep your medication information in one place so they can check for allergies and negative reactions.
• Check the label on your medicine for accuracy by comparing it with your doctor’s prescription.
• Ask your pharmacist how to take drug properly. If their instruction is different from your doctor’s, call your doctor.
• Read the label every time you take a dose.
• Call your doctor or pharmacy immediately if unexpected changes or side effects occur.