Participate in medication reconciliation

Asking questions is essential, but it isn't enough. Your health care providers can follow a process called medication reconciliation to significantly decrease your risk of medication errors.

Medication reconciliation is a safety strategy that involves comparing the list of medications your health care provider currently has with the list of medications you are currently taking. This process is done to avoid medication errors such as:

• Missing medications (omissions)
• Duplicate medications
• Dosing errors
• Drug interactions

Medication reconciliation should be done at every transition of care in which new medications are ordered or existing orders are rewritten. Transitions in care include changes in setting (such as being admitted or discharged from the hospital), health care provider or level of care.

Sharing your most up-to-date information with your health care providers gives the clearest picture of your condition and helps avoid medication mistakes.

Here's what you need to tell your health care providers:

• The name and strength of all medications you're taking and when you take them, including prescription medications, herbs, vitamins, nutritional supplements, over-the-counter drugs, vaccines and anything received intravenously, including diagnostic and contrast agents, radioactive medications, feeding tube supplements and blood products
• Any medications that you're allergic to or that have caused problems for you in the past
• Whether you have any chronic or serious health problems
• If you might be pregnant or you're trying to become pregnant