Medicine Safety Tips for Patients

Do you ever have questions on how to safely take your medicines?

Medication errors can happen in clinics and hospitals, pharmacies, and at home. Patients and healthcare providers, however, can work together to help prevent these errors.

Follow our patient Anna as she makes the most of visits with her healthcare team and pays attention to how to take her medicines at home.

For medicine safety tips that may help you take medicines more safely, keep reading and be sure to click on the blue boxes below for even more information.

Medicine Safety Tips For Patients by PfizerMEDICINE SAFETY TIPS FOR PATIENTSLEARN HOW TO USE YOUR MEDICINES MORE SAFELYMedicines improve the lives of many people. They can help us get healthy and stay healthy.For most patients, the benefits of taking a medicine are greater than the risks when used as prescribed.1 Risks include medication errors, which are preventable mistakes that may harm a patient or lead to inappropriate medication use.2These errors can happen in clinics and hospitals, in pharmacies and at homeThey cause almost 100,000 hospitalizations every year in the United States3Patients like you can help prevent medication errors.REMEMBER TO:4Talk with your healthcare team and ask questions about your health and medicinesRead medicine labels carefully and follow instructions on how to take your medicines more safelyBe an engaged partner in your health and the health of othersNEVER FORGET THAT YOU, THE PATIENT, ARE AN IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE HEALTHCARE TEAM.5MEET ANNAAnna, our patient, manages her whole family’s medicines. She makes the most of visits with her healthcare team including:• Doctors • Physician Assistants • NursesMotherPharmacistsSonAT THE CLINICWhen Anna visits her new doctor, Dr. Chan, she brings a list of the medicines she takes and questions to ask her doctor.At the visit, Anna and her doctor share information. They build the best possible treatment plan for her.Anna leaves her doctor’s office with a prescription and information on her new medicine’s benefits and risks.YOUR CLINIC VISITQUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOROR OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDERCARE IN THE HOSPITALAT THE PHARMACYAnna visits her pharmacist, Dr. Rosa, to pick up a few of her refills and the new medicine Dr. Chan prescribed. Before Anna leaves the pharmacy, Dr. Rosa explains some of the medicine’s important points.DECIDING ON A PHARMACY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR PHARMACIST READING YOUR PRESCRIPTION LABELMAKING A LIST OF ALL YOUR MEDICINES AT HOMEAt home, Anna pays special attention to how to take and store her medicines.6TAKING YOUR MEDICINESTORING YOUR MEDICINETHROWING AWAY MEDICINES AND SHARPSSPECIAL GROUPSAnna also helps manage the medicines that her mother and young son take. Older age patients and children are unique when it comes to taking medicines.OLDER AGE PATIENTS7 CHILDREN8SPOT COUNTERFEIT (FAKE) DRUGSCounterfeit drugs are fakes. They are not produced under safe manufacturing conditions and are not inspected by regulatory authorities. They may look the same9 as a real medicine but they can contain:10• No medicine at all • Wrong ingredients • Harmful ingredientsOrdering medicines over the internet from websites that are unknown or untrustworthy may be a serious counterfeit threat to patients.11 If anything seems different about the color, texture, shape or taste of your medicine, talk to your pharmacist.10LEARN HOW TO SPOT THE FAKES AND WHAT PFIZER DOES TO PROTECT PATIENTS FROM THEMSOURCES 1 fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143558.htm 2 http://www.nccmerp.org/about-medication-errors 3 psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/23/medication-errors4 fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm096403.htm 5 fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/ucm079480.htm6 safemedication.com/safemed/PharmacistsJournal/How-to-Safely-Store-and-Dispose-of-Your-Medications 7 fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/UCM163961.pdf 8 cdc.gov/medicationsafety/parents_childrenadversedrugevents.html9 cdc.gov/features/counterfeitdrugs/index.html 10 fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/ucm079278.htm 11 who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/4/10-020410/en/

Related Articles
Our Science
An Open Letter from Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla
An Open Letter from Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla
Our People
Yo Me Cuido (I Take Care of Myself)
Yo Me Cuido (I Take Care of Myself)
Our People
Diverse Perspectives
Diverse Perspectives
Our Purpose
The Pfizer Foundation Invests in Community-Based Solutions to…
Our People
Latino Colleagues at Pfizer Are Developing Potential Solutions for People Affected by COVID-19
Latino Colleagues at Pfizer Are Developing Potential Solutions…
Our Science
Other Diseases Deserve the Same Acceleration as COVID-19: A BioCentury Audio Interview with Rod MacKenzie
Other Diseases Deserve the Same Acceleration as COVID-19
Our Science
Moving at the Speed of Science
Moving at the Speed of Science
Our Purpose
Improving Care and Support for People Living with Breast Cancer
Improving Care and Support for People Living with Breast Cancer
Our Products
Woman-Made: Hear from Women at Pfizer With Careers in Modern Manufacturing
Woman-Made: Hear from Women at Pfizer With Careers in Modern…
Our People
Meet Our Manufacturers Inspiring Future Creators
Meet Our Manufacturers Inspiring Future Creators
Your Health
7 Myths About the Flu Vaccine
7 Myths About the Flu Vaccine
Your Health
Matter of Moments: Elevating Awareness of AFib and its Connection to Stroke Together with Yahoo! Lifestyle
Matter of Moments: Elevating Awareness of AFib and its…
Your Health
For many, today is the start of a fresh school or work week, but for the rare disease community, today marks the beginning of something more: Children’s Growth Awareness Week (Sept 13 & 19)
Children's Growth Awareness Week (Sept 13 – 19)
Your Health
The Do's and Don'ts of Wearing a Face Mask
The Do's and Don'ts of Wearing a Face Mask
Your Health
Health Disparities Among African-Americans
Health Disparities Among African-Americans
Your Health
WDAD_Hero_Image_380x300.jpg
World Duchenne Awareness Day: It’s More Than Muscles
Your Health
Telemedicine and Ulcerative Colitis: An HCP Perspective
Telemedicine and Ulcerative Colitis: An HCP Perspective
Our Science
Studying Cells
Studying a Cell’s 'Messages in a Bottle' to Unlock…
Your Health
Understanding Racial Microaggression and Its Effect on Mental Health
Understanding Racial Microaggression and Its Effect on Mental…
Your Health
Listen, Learn, and Act: Talking Race With Children
Listen, Learn, and Act: Talking Race With Children
Our People
2020 Summer Student Worker Program
The 2020 Summer Student Worker Program Goes Virtual