Published December 19, 2024
If you or a family member has been hospitalized, the first few days after returning home can be confusing. You may have prescriptions to fill for new medicines. You may need to restart some medicines or stop others that you were taking before you were hospitalized. Or you may need to take these medicines in different doses or at different times. These changes may cause you to make a mistake as you try to figure out what medicines to take or how to take them now that you are home.
Just before you leave the hospital, your nurse or pharmacist should review the list of medicines you will need to take at home. Because you have a lot on your mind, what they tell you may seem clear but then once you are home you may have questions. You may forget which medicines your nurse already gave you on the day you were discharged. So you might take an extra dose of medicine when you first get home or omit a dose that you should have taken. If your doctor prescribed a new medicine, you may not know whether it replaces an older medicine that should be stopped. Or you may find that you misplaced a prescription or never received one for a new medicine. You may also need a prescription for an existing medicine that you need to take in a different dose.
Here's what you can do: If you or a family member is hospitalized, follow these recommendations to avoid making mistakes with your medicines after discharge.
Before discharge. Ask your nurse to review with you clearly written instructions about all the medicines you should take at home. Be sure you know which medicines need a prescription and which can be bought over-the-counter (OTC). Ask your nurse to compare (reconcile) the list of medicines you should take at home to a list of medicines you were taking before you were hospitalized. If you don't have a list with you, your nurse should have a list that you or your family provided upon admission. Ask your nurse if you should stop or restart any medicines you were taking at home prior to hospitalization. If a medicine is new, or a dose has changed for a medicine you were previously taking, be sure you receive a new prescription. Ask if the new medicine replaces any medicines you took before being hospitalized. Ask your nurse to write down the medicines (including doses and times) you received on the day of discharge. Also ask them to write down when you should take the next dose of each medicine on the list. If the directions you are given for taking your medicine include multiple tablets or half tablets, be sure the total dose you should be taking is also provided. Ask your nurse to write down the telephone number for the nurses' station so you can call in case you have questions about your medicines during the first few days at home.
After discharge. If you have questions on how to take your medicines, don't hesitate to call your hospital nurse, doctor, or local pharmacist. When filling a new prescription, tell your pharmacist about any OTC medicines, vitamins, or herbals you are taking, as well as any prescription medicines that were stopped. When filling a new prescription, ask to speak with the pharmacist so you can learn as much as possible about any new medicine. Properly dispose of any older medicines you are no longer taking. If the dose of an existing medicine has been changed, bring the prescription bottle containing the older strength to the pharmacy so the directions for use can be updated., if possible.
