Transcript Your Medicine: Play it Safe

Your Medicine:
Play it Safe
Your Health Care Team
• Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other
medical professionals
• Nurses
• Pharmacists
Use the link below for a medical record form to
keep track of your doctors and pharmacy.
www.mlanet.org/resources/consumers_senior/
your_meds_playing_it_safe.pdf
Play it Safe Tips
1. Give your health care team
important information
2. Get the facts about your medicine
3. Stay with your treatment plan
4. Keep a record of your medicines
1. Give your health care team
important information
Tell your health care team about:
– Prescription medication
– Medicines you can buy without a prescription
(aspirin, antacids, laxatives, or cough medicine)
– Vitamins and dietary supplements (St. John’s
Wort or gingko biloba)
Use the medical record form below to keep track of
your doctors and pharmacy.
www.mlanet.org/resources/consumers_senior/
your_meds_playing_it_safe.pdf
Also tell your team about:
• Medicine allergies or if you’ve had
problems with a medicine in the past
• Other doctors who have prescribed
medicine for you or have suggested
you take vitamins or herbal
supplements
• Other illnesses or medical conditions
• Cost concerns
2. Get the facts about your
medicine
•
•
•
•
Be informed
Read the prescription
Know what your medicine is for
Ask Questions
– Talk to your doctor or pharmacist
– Write down questions before your appointment
Use the attached medical record form to keep
track of your doctors and pharmacy.
Tips
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Write down your questions
Take notes
Bring a friend or family member
Try to use the same pharmacy
Read and save patient information
Keep a list
Make a copy of your list
Use the attached form to keep track of
your medications and supplements
3. Stay With Your Treatment
Plan
•
•
•
•
Take all your medications
Ask your doctor about refills
Tell your doctor about side effects
Never give your prescription
medicine to others
• Ask if you need tests to find out if
your medicine is working
Tips – You Can Get Help
• Nurses
• Friends and Family can:
– Visit the doctor with you
– Talk to a pharmacist for you
– Call you to remind you to take your
medicine
– Keep a record of what you take and
when you take it
4. Keep a Record of Your
Medicines
• Keeping a detailed record of your
medications is important to you and
your health care team
• Use the attached form to keep track
of your medications and
supplements
Source: Your Medicine: Play it Safe. Patient Guide. AHRQ Publication No. 030019, February 2003. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville,
MD, and the National Council on Patient Information and Education, Bethesda,
MD. http://www.ahrg.gov/consumer/safemeds/safemeds.htm (accessed August
2, 2006.
What Makes Health
Information “Good”?
And where can I find it?
Medical Resources on the Web
• Medical websites can be:
– Valuable
– Unreliable or have missing information
• Some simple questions can help you
know the difference between “good”
and “bad” medical websites.
10 Things to Know about Evaluating
Medical Resources on the Web
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who runs the site?
Who pays for the site?
What is the purpose of the site?
Where does the information come
from?
5. What is the basis of the
information?
6. How is the information selected?
7. How current is the information?
8. How does the site choose links to
other sites?
9. What information about you does
the site collect and why?
10. How does the site manage
interactions with visitors?
Source: NCCAM Publication No. D142
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/webresources/, created February 19, 2002, accessed
August 7, 2006.
Health Information on the Internet:
Where do I begin?
•
•
Medline Plus
Medline Plus: Drugs, Supplements,
and Herbal Information
– Maintained by the Federal Government
– Free
– Remember, always discuss any new
information with a health care
professional
MedLine Plus
MedLine Plus
Getting a Prescription
Quick Tips
Questions to Ask When You are
Prescribed a New Medication
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is the name of the medicine?
What is it supposed to do?
Is it okay to substitute a lessexpensive generic medicine?
What is the dose?
Are there possible side effects?
How many refills do I get?
More Questions…
•
•
•
What should I do If I miss a dose?
What should I do if I accidentally
take more than the recommended
dose?
Is there any written information I
can take home with me?
Give the Doctor this information when
he provides a new medication:
•
•
•
•
Names of all your medications
Any concerns you have
If you are allergic to any medication
If you have any side effects from a
medication that has been
prescribed to you
Follow-Up Appointment Questions
•
•
•
•
Any problems you are having
Any side effects
Any new prescriptions you have
started taking
How you are feeling since you have
started the medication
Source: Quick Tips – When Getting a Prescription. AHRQ Publication No. 010040c, May 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville,
MD. http://www.ahrg.gov/consumer/quicktips/tippresearch.htm (accessed
August 2, 2006)