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The World Health Organization has put forward five critical moments of drug safety, namely, knowing drugs, taking drugs, adding drugs, checking drugs and stopping using drugs. Let patients fully understand these five moments, which can reduce the risk of drug-related injuries.
Then, how should you ask a doctor or pharmacist questions when seeing a doctor and consulting medication?
When the doctor gives you a new medicine, you need to know how to identify it. You can ask-
What is the name of this medicine and what is its function? For example, the doctor prescribed you 100 mg of aspirin, and you need to know what this medicine does.
What are the risks and possible side effects of taking this medicine? For example, the doctor prescribed you 100 mg of aspirin, and you should understand the risk that aspirin may cause gastric ulcer and gastric bleeding or bleeding in other parts.
Is there any other treatment for my illness? If you have cerebral infarction, when the doctor prescribes medicine, you can ask the doctor if you need to take other drugs or other treatments besides aspirin.
Have you told the doctor about my allergic history and other health conditions? When the doctor gives you a prescription, you should tell the doctor which foods or drugs you are allergic to. Or you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or you have any other diseases.
How do I store this medicine? After getting the medicine, ask the pharmacist how to store the medicine correctly, whether in the refrigerator or at room temperature, so as to avoid improper storage affecting the efficacy. For example, insulin, spare insulin should be put in the refrigerator. Once the insulin is put into the injection pen, it should be kept at room temperature. When traveling, insulin should be carried with you, not in checked baggage.
When the doctor gives you a new medicine, you need to know how to take it. You can ask-
When should I take the medicine and how much should I take each time? When you get the medicine, you should ask the pharmacist whether to take it in the morning or at night, whether to take half a tablet or more at a time.
How should I take this medicine? For example, you should ask the pharmacist whether to take it before or after meals, several times a day, whether it can be broken or ground, etc.
Does diet affect the medicine you are taking? You have to ask the pharmacist if you can take the medicine with drinks or milk, and if you can eat some fruit while taking the medicine. Because some drinks, such as coffee, orange juice or grapefruit juice, will react with drugs, affecting the efficacy of drugs or aggravating side effects.
What if I miss the medicine? You should ask the pharmacist whether to take the medicine immediately after missing it. After you miss it, the pharmacist will tell you how long you can eat it. Don't eat twice as much next time.
What if there are side effects? If there are side effects after taking the medicine, ask the pharmacist whether to stop taking the medicine immediately, continue to take the medicine for observation, and whether it is necessary to see a doctor and change the medicine in time.
When the doctor adds a new medicine to you, you need to know what to pay attention to when adding medicine. You can ask-
Do I really need to add other drugs? When the doctor gave you a prescription, you found that there were more kinds of drugs than before. At this time, you can ask the doctor whether it is really necessary to add new drugs, whether the condition has changed, or whether it is necessary to combine other drugs to increase the efficacy or reduce the side effects.
Did I tell the doctor the medicine I took? When the doctor gives you a prescription, you must tell the doctor all the drugs you are taking, including those prescribed by the hospital, the community and health care products. In order to avoid repeated medication or adverse interaction between the new drug and the drug you took before.
Will there be any interaction between the drugs taken now? When a doctor makes a prescription or you take medicine, you can ask the doctor or pharmacist if there will be any conflict between the drugs, which will lead to the enhancement or weakening of the efficacy or unexpected side effects.
What about suspecting interaction? Before taking medicine, you can consult a doctor or pharmacist to see if there will be drug interactions between drugs. You can also check whether your drug involves the drugs with interactions mentioned in the instructions by yourself against the drug interaction items in the instructions.
Can I manage multiple drugs correctly? If you are taking multiple drugs, there may be potential repeated use of drugs or adverse interactions, and there may even be the risk of expired drugs. If you think you can't manage drugs well, you can consult a pharmacist.
When you take a variety of drugs, you need to check your drugs. You can ask-
Do I keep the drug list? After the doctor gives you a prescription, you need to keep it. Prescription is a written record of this drug treatment, and it is also a reference for doctors to make further diagnosis and treatment. It records your illness and detailed drug information. The most important thing is that accurate medication is based and must be maintained.
How long have I been taking each medicine? When the doctor looks at you, he will ask you how long you have taken each medicine, and you should be able to say it accurately. If you can't say it, you'd better make a written record at the beginning of medication for use when you see a doctor.
Have I taken any medicine I don't need now? When you take more and more kinds of drugs, when you see a doctor in many hospitals, doctors or departments, there may be drugs that should have been stopped, but you have been taking them, or you have been taking auxiliary drugs that have no therapeutic effect for a long time. At this time, you need to consult a pharmacist to help you streamline your medicine.
Do health professionals regularly check my medication? It seems unrealistic to have a doctor or pharmacist check your medicine regularly. You can make a list of the drugs you are currently using and ask your doctor or pharmacist if it is necessary to simplify them.
How often should I check my medicine? Drugs stored for a long time are bound to expire. It is best to check the expiration date of the drug within 3 months. If it is overdue, you should not hesitate to discard it.
When the doctor prescribes medicine, you need to know whether to take it for a long time or for a short time, and whether it is necessary to stop taking it. You can ask-
When should I stop taking medicine? When the doctor makes a prescription, you should consult the doctor about how long this medicine needs to be taken and when it should be stopped. For example, drugs for hypertension and diabetes must be taken for a long time, and drugs infected with Helicobacter pylori should be taken for two weeks. With a clear understanding, we can avoid the harm caused by early withdrawal of chronic diseases and the risks caused by long-term medication of common diseases.
Is there anything in my medicine that can't stop suddenly? When the doctor makes a prescription, you should consult the doctor to see if there are any varieties of these drugs that you can't stop suddenly, and what are the adverse consequences of stopping suddenly. For example, sedatives and hypnotics to improve sleep, once taken, can not suddenly stop taking drugs, will lead to serious insomnia.
What should I do if I run out of medicine? When a doctor makes a prescription, you should consult the doctor about what to do after using the medicine, whether to continue to see a doctor and prescribe medicine or stop taking it.
Stop taking medicine because of some adverse reactions, where should I report it? When you take the medicine according to the doctor's prescription, your body suddenly appears unwell symptoms that you didn't have before. At this time, you may have side effects of drugs. Please stop taking the medicine immediately and report the side effects to your doctor or pharmacist. The doctor or pharmacist will make a detailed record of adverse drug reactions about your medication and allergies, and this record will not reveal your personal privacy. Doctors or pharmacists will report adverse drug reactions to the National Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Center to remind more people to pay attention to drug safety.
How to deal with surplus or expired drugs? Don't give the extra medicine at home to others when it is useless and not expired, because everyone's situation is different. Whether it's the remaining drugs at home or expired drugs, it's more reasonable to put them in the recycling bin of pharmacies, and then the regulatory authorities will handle them uniformly. In some places, the number of drug recycling stations is limited, so we can only handle them ourselves. It is suggested that expired drugs should be put into the harmful trash can together with the whole package. You can also choose to wrap the tablets in paper and wrap the granules in the whole package. After pouring out the powder, it can also be wrapped in paper and thrown into the harmful trash can. Oral liquid can be emptied, then washed with clear water and discarded. Chinese medicine pills can be thrown into the harmful trash can together with the packaging.
(Author: xuanwu hospital, vice president of Capital Medical University, Wang Hailian)