How To Take Your Medications Safely...Key Questions

From: Helen Dynda (olddad66@runestone.net)
Tue Aug 15 18:19:46 2000


1.) Enter: http://www.ismp.org/ 2.) Click: Alerts for Patients 3.) Click: How To Take Your Medications Safely Key Questions Your pharmacist can be your partner to prevent medication errors. Find one who offers services like monitoring your therapy and keeping a complete list in the pharmacy computer of all your medications and chronic medical conditions. Include over-the-counter medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal products even if you bought them somewhere else. It's worth the cost. With this information in one place, your pharmacist can help to protect you against harmful drug interactions, duplicate medications and other potential problems.

Before you leave the pharmacy, your pharmacist should give you printed information about the medication and make sure that you understand the answers to these questions:

1.. What are the brand and generic names of the medications? 2.. What does it look like? 3.. Why am I taking it? 4.. How much should I take, and how often? 5.. When is the best time to take it? 6.. How long will I need to take it? 7.. What side effects should I expect, and what should I do if they happen? 8.. What should I do if I miss a dose? 9.. Does this interact with my other medications or any foods? 10.. Does this replace anything else I was taking? 11.. Where and how do I store it? When you buy over-the-counter medications, read the labels carefully because they might contain ingredients you do not want or should not take. Maybe they will interact with your other medications, cause an allergic reaction, or not be correct for your symptoms. Ask your pharmacist for help if you have trouble selecting the right product.


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