Every patient needs a current medications list.

Any patient who takes five or more pills a day from prescriptions or other sources definitely needs a current medication list:

1. Name (brand or generic).

2. Dosage.

3. Why are you taking it?

4. When you go to an ER, one reason can be a reaction to a new medication or, equally important, a change in the dosage of a drug you have been taking.

If you have recently added a drug to your list, point that out to the doctor. “I started this last month.” “The doctor changed my dosage from __ to __ last week.”

This item reports that only three pills are responsible for one in three ER visits. That means the rest of the pills which go down your throat cause two-thirds of the ER trips.  That’s why your up-to-date medication list matters to you.

If you, or someone with whom you live, takes any of the three drugs listed below, read about them so that you are aware of side effects. You then will know to report any side effect quickly should you have one.

The more accurate your list, the more quickly any physician will be able to help you.

Health After 50

This tip is from a monthly subscription newsletter from The John Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50.

In September, 2009, the story, “How You Can Prevent Drug Errors,” as noted above, reported only three drugs are responsible for one in three medication-related visits to emergency rooms.

The editors named these three:

“1. Insulin (subcutaneous and IV).

2. Warfarin (Coumadin).

3. Digoxin (Lanoxin), which is used for heart failure and arrhythmia patients.

“These are life-saving medications, but they do require extra monitoring by doctors and patients to prevent side effects and interactions,” the editors say.

Source: The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50, September, 2009