Do you carefully read the label on your prescription bottle and look at the tablets before you take a dose of a new or refilled prescription medicine? Well, a 95-year-old woman did, and it helped to prevent a potentially serious mistake. Her doctor had recently increased the dose of her thyroid medicine. When she needed a refill, a staff person at her doctor's office mistakenly told the pharmacist to dispense the lower dose she had taken previously.
Read Safety ArticleIt has been almost 50 years (1978) since the American Academy of Pediatrics pointed out that using a household spoon to give liquid medicine is inaccurate. Studies indicate, however, that 3 out of 4 Americans still rely on teaspoons in their kitchen drawers to measure medicine doses.
Read Safety ArticleWhen your health condition changes, or when new treatments become available, your doctor may recommend changes to your medicines. If this happens, it’s important to know whether the changes affect the use of other medicines you are already taking. It’s also important to make other healthcare providers aware of the changes. If you are seeing several healthcare providers, they may not be sharing updated information about your medicines. That is why you will be the best person to communicate these changes to your various healthcare providers.
Read Safety ArticleSometimes, your doctor may write or send your prescription to the pharmacy with instructions to take the medicine “as directed.” In these cases, you must remember what the doctor has told you about how to take the medicine correctly. The label on the prescription container will not help you remember because the directions will simply say, “Use as directed.”
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