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Tips for Taking Medicines Safely

Summary & Participants

Prescription drug errors are common. Here are five steps you can take to help make sure you get the right drug at the right dose, improve communications with your doctor and pharmacist, and get the support you need.

Medically Reviewed On: July 11, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Prescription medications save lives and help improve the quality of life for many people. But medicines can also pose a danger when they are not used correctly.

Carolyn Clancy, MD: Prescription drug errors are a major problem and potentially touch the lives of all Americans. By one estimate, there are about a quarter of a million medication errors committed per year in the outpatient setting alone.

ANNOUNCER: Errors can be relatively insignificant: minor side effects that a patient wasn't warned about. Or more serious: A patient may end up taking the wrong medication, or the wrong dose, or no medicine at all.

CHRISTINE KOVNER PhD, RN: The biggest cause of prescription drug errors, I think, is a lack of communication. And that's a lack of communication between physicians and nurses, physicians and patients and families, patients and families and patients and nurses.

ANNOUNCER: That's why experts say: Ask lots of questions. It's the first item on a medicine safety checklist prepared by the US government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Carolyn Clancy, MD: I think many people are reluctant to ask questions, because it's very, very clear that doctors and all healthcare professionals are very pressed for time these days. Oftentimes, people, including me, think of a question after they leave, and then it's not really clear who to call.

ANNOUNCER: Often doctors don't know all the medicines a patient is taking. So the second item on the safety checklist is: Bring them in.

GREGG S. MEYER, MD: Another very simple step that's very effective that I love my patients to do is come in the office with a brown bag. Take all the medications you're actively taking, put them in the bag. Bring them to your doctor's office, put them on the desk and go through them. It takes only moments, but the improvement to your safety is really, really important.

ANNOUNCER: Vitamins, herbs, over-the-counter, and alternative medicines of any kind, should also be checked.

GREGG S. MEYER, MD: Many of these supplements are relatively benign and don't have any interactions, but some do, and some of those interactions can be important and can influence the safety of medications that your doctor may prescribe for you.

ANNOUNCER: Keeping track of your medications also means having that information available when a doctor might need it quickly. While your pharmacist may be able to print out a list, the task becomes more complicated as people use multiple drug stores, and order drugs online.

Carolyn Clancy, MD: People should have a list of their medications with them. You never know when an emergency is going to come up,and knowing what medicines you're on is incredibly helpful information.

ANNOUNCER: Item three on the safety checklist is: Make sure your medicine is what was ordered, and that you know how to take it.

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