Evaluate your Choices – Weigh the Benefits and Risks
After you have all the information, think carefully about your choices. Think about the helpful effects as well as the possible unwanted effects. Decide which are most important to you. This is how you weigh the benefits and risks. The expert advice from your health care team and the information you give the team can help guide you and your team in making the decision that is right for you.
Read the Label and Follow Directions
Read the label to know what active ingredient(s) is (are) in the medicine. The active ingredient in a prescription or OTC medicine might be in other medicines you use. Using too much of any active ingredient may increase your chance of unwanted side effects.
Read the label each time you buy an OTC medicine or fill your prescription. When buying an OTC, read the “Drug Facts” label carefully to make sure it is the right medicine for you. Prescription and OTC medicines don’t always mix well with each other. Dietary supplements (like vitamins and herbals) and some foods and drinks can cause problems with your medicines too. Ask the pharmacist if you have questions.
Before you leave the pharmacy with your prescription, be sure you have the right medicine, know the right dose to use, and know how to use it. If you’ve bought the medicine before, make sure that this medicine has the same shape, color, size, and packaging. Anything different? Ask your pharmacist. If your medicine tastes different when you use it, tell your health care team.
Read and save all the information you get with your medicine.
Read the label each time before you use the medicine. Be sure it’s right in 5 ways:
- the right medicine
- for the right patient
- in the right amount
- at the right time
- in the right way (for example, swallow instead of chew a pill)
Follow directions on the label and from your health care team. When you are ready to use the medicine, make the most of the benefits and lower the risks by following the directions.
If you want to stop a medicine your doctor told you to use or to use it in a different way than directed, talk to a team member. Some medicines take longer to show that they are working. With some medicines, such as antibiotics, it is important to finish the whole prescription, even if you feel better sooner. When you stop using some medicines, you must reduce the dose little by little to prevent unwanted side effects.
Report back to the Team
Pay attention to how you feel. If you have an unwanted effect, tell your health care team right away. A change in the dose or a change in medicine may be needed.
Source: FDA
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Aug 2006
