Using your medications safely and wisely is easy – if you partner with your pharmacist and learn about your medicines. National Pharmacy Week is celebrated annually during the month of October. During this week, the Michigan Pharmacists Association encourages you to begin a relationship with your pharmacist by talking to him or her about all the medications you take, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and herbal remedies.
MPA also recommends that you follow "Ten Tips on Medication Safety" issued by the United States Pharmacopeia to ensure your medication use safety:
1. Talk with your prescriber about
your prescription.
2. Make sure you can read the prescription you receive from your prescriber.
3. Understand what illness the drug is treating.
4. Check the label when you get your prescription.
5. Ask your pharmacist to explain the drug and how it works.
6.Ask your pharmacist for printed information about your prescription.
7. When you get a refill, make sure it is the same drug.
8. Keep records of your medications.
9. Purchase
a drug information guide.
10. If you are sight impaired,
ask for assistance from your pharmacist to help you tell your medications apart
from one another.
Pharmacists have received extensive training in all medicines, both prescription and non-prescription. As your most readily available health professional and a medication use expert, pharmacists can help you learn about your medications and what will help you become and stay healthy.
National Pharmacy Week is sponsored by the Michigan Pharmacists Association and the American Pharmacists Association.