Your Medication List: Preparing for a Pharmacy Review

A medication review is a conversation with a pharmacist about everything you take. It is most useful when the pharmacist can see the full picture, including medicines filled at other pharmacies, supplements, and how you actually take each one. Here is how to prepare.

Who may find a review helpful

People who take several medicines, see more than one prescriber, have recently left the hospital, or have had a medicine added or changed often find it useful to go over their list. You do not need a specific problem to ask questions about your medicines.

What to bring

• Every prescription medicine, ideally in its original container, including inhalers, eye drops, creams, patches, and injections
• Over-the-counter products such as pain relievers, antacids, allergy medicines, and sleep aids
• Vitamins, herbal products, and other supplements
• Medicines you take only as needed, and any you stopped recently
• The names and phone numbers of your prescribers and any other pharmacies you use
• A recent hospital discharge list or lab results, if you have them

Write down how you actually take each one

A label shows how a medicine was prescribed, which is not always how it ends up being taken. For each medicine, note the strength, the times of day you take it, whether you take it with food, and any doses you skip, split, or adjust. Be candid. This helps the pharmacist spot problems, and it is not a judgment.

Allergies and past reactions

List any medicine you have reacted to, what happened, and roughly when. Hives, swelling, or trouble breathing are handled differently from an upset stomach, so the details help the pharmacist and your prescriber tell an allergy from a side effect.

Questions worth bringing

• Do any of my medicines or supplements interact with each other?
• Am I taking two products that contain the same ingredient?
• Could any of my symptoms be a side effect?
• Is there a simpler way to organize my doses during the day?
• How should each medicine be stored, and what should I do if I miss a dose?
• Is there anything on my list I should ask my prescriber whether I still need?

What a review can and cannot do

A pharmacist can help you understand what each medicine is for and how to take it, and can look for possible interactions, duplicate ingredients, or side effects. If something needs attention, the pharmacist can suggest questions for your prescriber or, with your permission, contact your prescriber about the concern. Decisions to start, stop, or change a prescription medicine are made with your prescriber.

Do not stop a medicine on your own

If something you learn raises a concern, do not stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own. Some medicines cause problems when stopped suddenly. Contact your prescriber or pharmacist first, and call 911 for trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or fainting.

To ask about a medication review at RxByDesign, call 720-507-6344 or visit the pharmacy at 9779 E Hampden Ave., Denver.