Tips to avoid medication errors at home:
• Keep your prescription medicines locked up so that kids cannot get them.
• Pin up your doctor’s prescription next to your bed and read it each time you take your medications. This will help prevent accidental overdose.
• Note the expiry dates of medications; if a medication is nearing expiry, mark a huge red X on it.
• If your pharmacy issues expired medications to you by mistake, bring this to your health provider’s notice.
• Never take another person’s prescription even if you have a similar problem.
• Always monitor your children when they take their prescriptions.
• Don’t retain left over prescription medications to use later if the same symptoms occur. Always consult your doctor each time.
• Throw out any medication that’s gone past its expiration date.
• Do not store any medications for which you’ve lost the prescriptions.
• Always find out about the medication you’ve been prescribed, its purpose and dosage.
• Understand the drug directions; how many times a day, and how many hours apart are you supposed to take a drug?
• Find out if the drug should be stored in the fridge or at room temperature
• Find out if you need to avoid medications, food items and beverages
• Find out if there are any side effects of the medication and what you should do to manage them
• When you give medication to your kids, read the drug name, dosage and prescription each time.
• Make sure only one member of your family is in charge of dispensing medications to your children.
• Always use the measuring spoon that accompanies the medicine and not your kitchen spoons.
• Use compliance aids such as medicine containers with dosage based sections for daily doses. This will keep you from mixing up your medications.
• Report all medications you are currently taking including OTC drugs, diet supplements, and herbs and so on. Some of the medications you’re taking might reduce the effect of a prescription medication.
• Use a single pharmacy for all your prescriptions to ensure your records are in one place.
• Your doctor and your pharmacy should know about your medication allergies and any unpleasant drug reactions.