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Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors
5.
Ask for information about your medicines in terms you can understand—both
when your medicines are prescribed and when you receive them.
What
is the medicine for?
How
am I supposed to take it, and for how long?
What
side effects are likely? What do I do if they occur?
Is
this medicine safe to take with other medicines or dietary supplements
I am taking?
What
food, drink, or activities should I avoid while taking this
medicine?
6.
When you pick up your medicine from the pharmacy, ask: Is this
the medicine that my doctor prescribed? A study by the Massachusetts
College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences found that 88
percent of medicine errors involved the wrong drug or the wrong
dose.
7.
If you have any questions about the directions on your medicine
labels, ask. Medicine labels can be hard to understand. For
example, ask if "four doses daily" means taking a
dose every 6 hours around the clock or just during regular waking
hours.
8.
Ask your pharmacist for the best device to measure your liquid
medicine. Also, ask questions if you're not sure how to use
it. Research shows that many people do not understand the right
way to measure liquid medicines. For example, many use household
teaspoons, which often do not hold a true teaspoon of liquid.
Special devices, like marked syringes, help people to measure
the right dose. Being told how to use the devices helps even
more.
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