Personal Medication Record: Fact Sheet

This Fact Sheet accompanies the Personal Medication Record class available in our classroom.

What is personal medication record?
Why do you need a personal medication record form?
When/where will you need your medication record?
Where do you keep a copy of your Medication record form?

What is personal medication record?

A personal medication record is a list of the medications that the person you are caring for is currently taking.

Medication list:

Prescription medications
Over-the-counter medications
Vitamins
Herbal products

The following information for each of these medications is also included:

Name of the medications and the prescribing physician
Purpose/reason for the medication
Strength
Frequency or how often you take each medication
How you take each medication
The date when the medication was started
How the medication is working

It also contains the follow info which tells who you are and who to contact:

Patients' date of birth
Drug and food allergies
Patient's and Caregiver's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address
Primary care physician's and Primary pharmacy's name, address, telephone number
E-mail addresses for all parties, if available

Why do you need a personal medication record form?

1. Safety and Effectiveness

Good prescribing requires good medication record.
Medication duplication. Your medication record helps the pharmacist and physician make sure that you are not taking two forms of the same medicine. Also, if your medication has been changed, the medication record form will help pharmacist make sure that you are not taking both the old and new medications by mistake. For example, prescription Alzheimer medications like Razadyne (formerly Reminyl) and Aricept should not be taken together.
Know your allergies. By listing any allergies that the patient has to drugs, the pharmacist and physician can make sure that you do not accidentally receive a drug that might harm you instead of helping you.
Herbal supplements and over-the-counter medications can cause problems as well. Even though herbal supplements are available without prescription, they can have interactions with your prescription Alzheimer medication. For example, patients taking Aricept should avoid herbal product called St. John's Wort because it can decrease the efficacy of Aricept. Alzheimer patients taking prescription medications like Aricept or Razadyne (formerly Reminyl) should not take over the counter medication like Benadryl (diphenhydramine) because it decreases the benefits of Alzheimer medications.
You are the only one who knows exactly how the medication is helping the person you are taking care of. Documenting the effectiveness of the medications in the comments section of the medication records form can help pharmacist and physicians decide if any changes need to be made.

2. Accuracy

Caregivers know best. You are in a better position than anyone else to describe the most accurate information regarding what medications the person you are caring for takes, how exactly they take them, the side effects they have, and how well the medications are working.
The information you provide helps the doctor and pharmacist make better and more informed decision regarding the medications.

3. Completeness

Multiple Pharmacies and Multiple Doctors. If you go to more than one pharmacy to get the medications or the patient sees more than one doctor, the medication record form will allow all the pharmacists and doctors involved to have complete information regarding the medications before they make medical decisions.
Most people do not recognize over the counter medications, herbal or dietary supplement, and vitamins as medications and thus do not report them to their practitioners. The medication record form allows you to provide the doctors and pharmacists with complete information regarding such products.

4. Access

In case of an emergency, having a complete and accurate medication record can serve as a tool for the emergency medical staff to know who you are, who to contact, your medical conditions, what medications you take, and what medications you are allergic to and allows them to give you proper care and ensures safety as well.
If you are traveling out of your city and need to visit a health care provider who doesn't know you, the medication record form will help the provider know your medications quickly.
When you are separated from your prescription bottles and cannot remember the name or dose of your medication

When/where will you need your medication record?

Physician office visit
Other healthcare provider visits, eg. Dentist, Occupational Therapist
Pharmacist visit for:

Getting prescription filled
Buying an over the counter drugs, vitamin or dietary supplement, or herbal product

Hospital Visit
Urgent Care/Emergency Department Visit
New care giver

Where do you keep a copy of your Medication record form?

After completely filling out the attached medication form, make enough copies for all those who need it (patient, caregiver, family member, adult day care facility etc.).
Keep one copy of the form safely at home and at work.
Carry one form with you at all times.