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Prescription For Trouble: Eight on Your Side Tips
Victoria Lim
At a time when you feel the worst, you may need to be the most alert. Unfortunately, errors at your local pharmacy can happen - and lead to deadly results. Eight is on Your Side with these tips to help you protect yourself and your family:
Ask questions to the doctor or pharmacist: What is the name of the medicine? What is it for? How often and length of time should you take it?
Take note of what is prescribed. Memorize, write it down, or photocopy your prescription before taking it to the pharmacy.
Don't rush, interrupt, or distract your pharmacist. Even though some pharmacies have drive-thru windows, it's not a hamburger! Let your pharmacist concentrate and take his/her time to reduce the chances of mistakes. After all, it is YOUR medication.
Inspect the label and the medication itself. Make sure you understand the instructions, and that you are getting the drugs you should. If you're taking pills, make sure they all look alike. If they don't, ask why before taking it. If it's a refill, make sure the medication looks like what you've already been taking. If it doesn't, ask again and ask WHY.
Let your pharmacist know if you're taking other drugs. That can prevent adverse reactions.
Stay with one pharmacist. That way, all of your medication records are in one location.
SIMILAR MEDICATION NAMES
Medications with names that look and sound alike are becoming a source of mistakes. Pay attention to your label, and the medication itself-especially if the color, size, or shape of your medication changes. Here's a list of some names that sound alike:
Ambien Amen
Amiodrane Amrinone
Cardene SR Cardizem SR
Clonidine Klonipin
Feldane Seldane
Flutamide Flumadine
Imipenem Omnipen
Lodine Codeine
Lorazepan Alprazolam
MS Contin Oxycontin
Oruvail Clinoril
Prisolec Prozac
Retrovir Ritonavir
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices
Florida Pharmacy Association
Food and Drug Administration
The Agency for Health Care Administration