7 Safety Tips to Preventing Medication Errors

Thursday, December 26, 2019

1. Ask questions and disclose as much information as you can.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist questions about your medications and what they treat. Knowing what medications you take and why can help you identify possible problems. These potential issues include duplicate therapy (taking two of the same medication or two of the same type of medication), drug allergies, etc.

2. Use one pharmacy and one doctor.

When you have multiple doctors, one doctor may not be aware of what the other is prescribing. This can result in receiving medications of the same type and medications that interact with each other. If you use more than one pharmacy, neither pharmacist will have enough information to identify these issues. Filling all of your prescriptions at one pharmacy can prevent you from receiving duplicate therapy and medications that may interact with each other.

3. Keep your medications separate.

Keeping medications separate can keep you from confusing them and taking them incorrectly. Some medications require certain storage conditions. For example, nitroglycerin tablets used to treat chest pain must be kept in an amber (dark-colored) glass bottle to keep their potency.

4. Follow doctor or pharmacist instructions.

Do not take more medication than instructed by your doctor and pharmacist. Taking more than recommended can result in more side effects and may harm you. Following instructions also includes refilling on time and not missing doses.

5. Don't chew or crush medications.

Unless your doctor or pharmacist says so, that is. This may become an issue with long-acting medications like those available in XR, XL, SR and ER formulations. When the long-acting formulations are cut, crushed or chewed, they may release the medication too quickly and not last the way they are designed to.

6. Get rid of old medications.

Properly dispose of all medications you are no longer taking or those that have expired. Talk to your pharmacist about disposal drop boxes.

7. Keep a list.

Keep an updated list of all medications you take, including over-the-counter medications and herbal and nu

Heather Weber, Pharm. D, is a pharmacist at MediCenter Pharmacy in Jackson.