how to -watch medications
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Check out the YouTube video from the Families Launching Action Against Medication Errors organization.
Find uses, warnings, side effects and interactions to medications. Search by name or medical condition for prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications.
Information from The Joint Commission on avoiding medication errors.
Keep An Eye On The Medications
Did you know that 1.5 million people a year are injured by medication errors? That’s according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
We regularly dealt with medication errors, as well as just straightforward medication complications. The problems were seemingly endless. The medication would make our dad sick, or itch, or completely change his disposition. He was given medications that weren’t effective for someone his age, and sometimes he was taken off drugs cold turkey, causing withdrawal on top of his primary medical issues. He wasn’t given tests that were essential for certain meds. There were times he was given too much medication, or not given enough. The list goes on and on and on.
The two most important things we learned: Keep an updated list of all medications, and always ask if any meds have been changed.
We regularly dealt with medication errors, as well as just straightforward medication complications. The problems were seemingly endless. The medication would make our dad sick, or itch, or completely change his disposition. He was given medications that weren’t effective for someone his age, and sometimes he was taken off drugs cold turkey, causing withdrawal on top of his primary medical issues. He wasn’t given tests that were essential for certain meds. There were times he was given too much medication, or not given enough. The list goes on and on and on.
The two most important things we learned: Keep an updated list of all medications, and always ask if any meds have been changed. 
Here’s an idea from the FDA: When the doctor is writing out a prescription, ask to have the name spelled out, and write it down, along with the dosage directions, right there in the doctor’s office. Take these notes with you to the pharmacy to prevent any mistakes that might possibly result from the pharmacist’s not being able to decipher the doctor’s handwriting.
"How Two Rights Can Make a Wrong" by Howard Markel, MD, The New York Times
"Patient Protection" by Tina Peng, Newsweek.com
"Just What the Doctor Ordered? Not Exactly" by Jane E. Brody, The New York Times
"Patient Protection" by Tina Peng, Newsweek.com
"Just What the Doctor Ordered? Not Exactly" by Jane E. Brody, The New York Times
