One of the most vital services that your pharmacist can deliver to you is a review of all the medications you are currently taking.
Medications offer many benefits to manage health conditions. They can also be complicated, particularly if you are taking multiple medications. Keeping track of dosages and instructions for multiple medications can be a challenging task.
We often find that people are not sure why they are taking a particular medication. This could be because you don’t have a primary health-care provider and have gone to several clinics to access health services, or perhaps you have used multiple pharmacies to fill your prescriptions.
What is a medication review
A one-on-one medication review has several goals. The first priority of a review is to ensure that you are not taking medications that conflict with each other. A review can also spot interactions between prescribed medications, healthcare products or supplements and any other over-the-counter medications you are currently taking. A pharmacist can also explain why each medication is important to your health. Problems you may be having with a particular prescription can be discussed. If you are having trouble organizing how and when you take medications your pharmacist will be able to help you with this.
Who should get a medication review
Anyone taking multiple medications should consider a medication review. Generally speaking this usually includes the senior population as well as those with chronic health conditions.
Preparing for your medication review
To prepare for a review the process is simple. Make a list of all medications you are taking in. Beside each medication write down when and why it was prescribed. Do the same with supplements, noting why you are taking them. Check expiry dates on all non-prescription drugs you are taking. Once you have done this preliminary review in your home, call your pharmacy and book a medication review. Bring this list in with you for your medication review meeting with your pharmacist.
Your review will be held in a private consultation room. You will have the opportunity to ask any questions related to medication that you may have. You will leave the review with the knowledge that your pharmacist now has all of your medication information. Your pharmacist will provide you with a print-out of your medications which you can share with your family and other members of your health care team.
Call us or walk into one of our Heart Pharmacy locations and let’s talk about setting up your medication review.