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Summary
Medicines treat infectious diseases, prevent problems from chronic diseases, and ease pain. But medicines can also cause harmful reactions if not used correctly. Errors can happen in the hospital, at the health care provider's office, at the pharmacy, or at home. You can help prevent errors by:
- Knowing your medicines. When you get a prescription, ask the name of the medicine and check to make sure that the pharmacy gave you the right medicine. Make sure that you understand how often you should take the medicine and how long you should take it.
- Keeping a list of medicines.
- Write down all of the medicines that you are taking, including the names of your medicines, how much you take, and when you take them. Make sure to include any over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbs that you take.
- List the medicines that you are allergic to or that have caused you problems in the past.
- Take this list with you every time you see a health care provider.
- Reading medicine labels and following the directions. Don't just rely on your memory - read the medication label every time. Be especially careful when giving medicines to children.
- Asking questions. If you don't know the answers to these questions, ask your health care provider or pharmacist:
- Why am I taking this medicine?
- What are the common side effects?
- What should I do if I have side effects?
- When should I stop this medicine?
- Can I take this medicine with the other medicines and supplements on my list?
- Do I need to avoid certain foods or alcohol while taking this medicine?
Food and Drug Administration
Related Issues
- List of Confused Drug Names (Institute for Safe Medication Practices)
Specifics
- Speak Up: About Your Medications (Joint Commission) - PDF
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Medication Errors (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Investigating pediatric nurses' perceptions of factors contributing to MAEs at Yendi...
- Article: Improving medication safety for intensive care patients transitioning to a hospital...
- Article: Understanding prescribing errors for system optimisation: the technology-related error mechanism classification.
- Medication Errors -- see more articles
Find an Expert
Children
- Medicines: Using Them Safely (for Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Older Adults
- Taking Medicines Safely As You Age (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- How and when to get rid of unused medicines (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Keeping your medicines organized (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Medication safety - Filling your prescription (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Medication safety during your hospital stay (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Storing your medicines (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Taking medicine at home - create a routine (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish