Senior Lookout
As people age, they tend to take more over-the-counter and prescription medications for one problem or another, and chances are that they also are seen by more than one doctor.
While most people think of their general practitioner as the overseer of all their health needs, the reality is that each of the practitioners the patient sees, whether it be the family doctor or various specialists, tend not to tread on one another's toes in terms of prescribing. Thus, a family doctor may routinely prescribe antibiotics for infections, but the patient may also see a cardiologist, who prescribes for heart disease, a rheumatologist, who prescribes for arthritis, and a gastroenterologist who prescribes for digestive issues, for example.
And, if a patient stops at a pharmacy that they don't usually patronize, or fills a prescription while on vacation, the usual safeguards that their own pharmacist has in place might be inadvertently circumvented.
Consumers need to realize that errors occur in the medical system, and be their own advocates when it comes to staying safe. Computer savvy seniors can keep themselves healthier and safer with a little help from one easy to navigate Web site, www.drugs.com.
Patients can access a "Drug Interactions Checker" that can tell them if the medication they are using has any negative interactions with anything else they are taking. For example, the commonly prescribed anti-cholesterol medication, Lipitor, is known to interact with over 600 drugs, including erythromycin, niacin (vitamin B3), simvastatin, and metronidazole.
Physicians should be aware of, or be checking for, such interactions, but if an individual is being treated by many specialists, this site provides another safety layer beyond the family doctor or pharmacist.
There is also a Pill Identifier on the site, which can help consumers avoid medication errors by showing the correct color and marking for the medication that their doctor has prescribed. Or, the consumer can enter the marking on a medication to find out what it is. For example, if a patient enters "PD 155," the Identifier indicates that the pill is Lipitor, and the patient will also see that the "10" inscribed on the back of the pill indicates that it is a 10 milligram tablet.
Consumers should know the name of every medication the doctor has prescribed, what each medication looks like, and be sure to look at every medication before ingesting it. Patients should not be afraid to ask questions if a medication looks unfamiliar. Sometimes, it's just that a generic substitution has been made, but it's always best to be sure before swallowing.
Keeping a written list of all medications taken, including dietary supplements, herbal preparations and non-prescription drugs can help the doctor prescribe more safely. Ask the doctor, as each prescription is written, what the name of the drug is, the correct strength or dosage, what it is being prescribed for, and if there are any interactions or side effects to watch for. Write the information down, as many drug names sound alike. If you are in the hospital, and unable to do this yourself, pre-arrange to have a family member or friend do this for you, if possible.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, medication errors injure more than one million people per year in America, and while there are still far too many medication errors in hospitals, there has been a recent upsurge in home settings, so being one's own advocate is important in preventing errors, and saving lives.
Anne Springer is the public relations director of SeniorCare, Inc., your local Area Agency on Aging. To reach SeniorCare, call 978-281-1750.
