Medication Safety

MEDICATION SAFETY has been a hot topic in the press recently. At Danville Regional Medical Center, it has been a hot topic for over 100 years! DRMC has implemented comprehensive systems to assure patient medication safety. These systems use the skills and knowledge of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare workers. These systems include complicated computer and robotics systems, health care provider training, and quality checking.

These systems also include a very important part of the whole process: YOU!

Yes! YOU are part of the team that assures your safety when it comes to receiving medication! Here's what YOU can do to assure your own safety:

While you are here at DRMC, you should:

When you are admitted to the hospital, bring a list of medications you are taking. If there isn't time to make a list, bring the medications. Keep them in their containers. Allow our staff to review all of your medications. Your medications should then be sent home--our safety systems revolve around DRMC dispensing and administering specially packaged (unit-dosed and robotics-read) medications, and we shouldn't use your medications from home.

Ask questions about each dose of medicine that you receive here in the hospital. Your physician, nurse, pharmacist, or other caretaker is happy to keep you up to date on what's happening during your care. Ask if the dose you are getting looks unfamiliar. Ask if you expected to get a dose of medicine, but didn't!

When you are at the doctor's office or at your pharmacy, you should:

Ask questions about your medicine. At a minimum, your should ask these questions:

What are brand and generic names of the product?
What is this medicine used for?
What does this medicine look like?
How should I take this medicine?
What should I do if I miss a dose of this medicine?
What are the side effects of this medicine?
What should I do if I experience a side effect?
Are there any drug-drug or drug-food interactions with this medicine?
How should I store this medicine?

When you ask a question, listen to the answer. Take notes. If you don't understand the answer, ask again.

Always make sure your physician and pharmacist knows about all of the medication that you are taking, including prescriptions, non-prescription drugs, vitamins, and herbal remedies. Pharmacists and physicians want to make sure than any new medicine you might receive will not interfere with any medicines you are currently taking.

Always alert your pharmacist and physicians about your allergies, including allergies to food. Tell your health care provider about when you had an allergic reaction, what happened when you had this allergy and how severe the reaction was.

When you are at home, you should:

Read your prescription label each time you take a dose of medicine.

Make sure you are familiar with the appearance of your medicine. If the pills look different from those you normally take, ask your pharmacist about them. Sometimes, there's an easy explanation (there may have been a safe generic substitution, or the manufacturer may have changed the appearance of the pills). Other times, you could help prevent a medication error.

Take your medicine exactly as it was prescribed.

Discard medicines that are old or are no longer needed. Don't put them in the trash -- flush them down the toilet.

Do not share your medicine with other people. Do not take medicine prescribed for other people. This can be dangerous.