Steps to Help You Avoid Medication Mistakes

When you consider how many different medications many of us take every day, it's not surprising that mistakes happen. According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, some 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events occur in the United States every year. As dire as this sounds, there is much you can do to avoid medication errors. Here are some tips from Johns Hopkins.

If memory problems hinder your ability to remember when to take medication, or if low vision makes it difficult for you to read labels, discriminate between similarly shaped pills, and read the information sheets that come with medications, you can still avoid adverse drug events by trying some of these helpful tips:

If You Have Memory Loss:

• Try wrapping rubber bands around each pill bottle equaling the number of daily doses. Remove one band each time you take the medication, and then replace all of the bands for the following day.
• Keep a medication chart in order to record whether you have taken your pills. This can be a simple dry-erase board on the refrigerator door; put a check next to each medication after you take it.
• Use an alarm on your watch or cell phone to remind you when it's time to take your medication. Some fancier versions of dosettes come with built-in alarms. There are even automated medication dispensers that announce when it's time to take your medication, then dole out the appropriate pill.

If You Have Vision Loss:

• Use a medication organizer or "dosette" to keep track of your pills, and put larger-type labels on each compartment so that you can read the days of the week and the times of day. Ask a family member or friend to fill the medication organizer for you each week.
• Keep a magnifier handy with your pills.
• Ask your pharmacist to use different-size bottles when dispensing similarly shaped pills. Or ask about talking pill bottles. They play a recorded message telling you the name of the medication and your prescription information.