Hello Everyone,
Do you, a family member or someone you know have any of the following medical conditions or taking certain types of medication?
Diabetes
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
Other Cardiovascular Disease
Pacemaker
Implanted Defibrillator
Asthma
Drug Allergies
Food Allergies
Taking Blood Thinners (Coumadin / Warfarin)
Taking Heart Medications (Lanoxin / Digoxin)
Seizures
Other serious Medical Condition
If you have any of those conditions or more..... you need to IDENTIFY YOURSELF!!!!!!!!
If you have any of those conditions or more..... you need to IDENTIFY YOURSELF!!!!!!!!
If you have any of those conditions or more..... you need to IDENTIFY YOURSELF!!!!!!!!
Above was not a typo. I want to get my point across!
Imagine if your Mom passes out in her favorite store. Did she have a heart attack? A stroke? Did she just slip and fall? It is hard to tell right now. She may have some symptoms but the store manager who goes to check it out may not have a clue.
However, if she was wearing her Medical ID bracelet that indicated that she is diabetic, the manager and then the emergency responders would be able to check first for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). (A survey by American Medical ID indicated that 95% of first responders look for medical ID during emergencies). The treatment to reverse low blood sugar is relatively easy. Having that bracelet may save her life.
There are many suppliers of Medical ID bracelets. You may have seen order forms at many pharmacies. By the way, not only bracelets. There are necklaces / pendants, and charms. I have provided a link to an online supplier. http://www.americanmedical-id.com
(Note: I do not have any financial ties or receive any payment from my online links. I do a Google search, find a supplier that I would buy from and then make the reco.)
The above list of medical conditions is not a complete list of who should have a Medical ID. The link has some good information on their FAQ.
Hope you are finding this information helpful. Let me know. Please let your friends, family and co-workers know about this site.
Thank you for your time.
Dr. Paul
GOOD NEWS! - Now you can go to www.howdodrugswork.com to get to this site.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Pharmacy Mistakes
Hello Everyone,
There has been some press this morning about the increase in pharmacy errors. Since you are now on your way to becoming INFORMED medication consumers, here are some helpful hints:
Note: some of these hints were posted on a CNN article written by Elizabeth Cohen with quotes from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (Hedy Cohen) University of California-San Diego (Dr. David Phillips) and the American Pharmacist Association (APhA Mitch Rothholz) http://body.aol.com/news/health/article/_a/dont-be-a-victim-of-pharmacy-errors/20071026123509990001
Take some responsibility for your own medications. Know what you are taking and why. Know what the tablets, capsules look like that you are taking. If the tablets / capsules in the new refill you just received does not look the same, ASK!!!!! Do everything you can to make sure that the drugs inside the bottle are the ones that are supposed to be there.
At pharmacies across America, the beginning of the month is extremely busy. The reason? Medicare entitlements renew at the beginning of the month. Social security checks are received at the beginning of the month. Dr. Phillips' research indicated that pharmacy errors increase by 25% above normal the first few days of the month. Try to schedule your refills for the middle or end of the month.
Don't wait until the last minute to get your refills. Plan Ahead.
When the Dr. writes you a new prescription, ask him/her what the drug is for. What is the name of the drug, the strength. Make sure the writing on the prescription is LEGIBLE!. Many pharmacy errors occur because the pharmacist mis-reads the prescription. The referenced AOL article talks about a lawsuit that was filed because a patient was given Matulane instead of Materna. You may be able to imagine how those two drugs could be mis-read having seen some of the chicken scratch that is out there. (Chickens, Please don't take offense and send me some threatening emails)
It's curious to realize that many people will research and read on the latest wines, cheeses and other food items and can quote the latest "Wine Spectator" score on that vintage of 2005 Merlot. However, they will not take the time and energy to know about the medication they are taking to control their diabetes.
Since you are reading this article, I'll try to help educate you on drug items of interest.
Be vigilant,
Dr. Paul
There has been some press this morning about the increase in pharmacy errors. Since you are now on your way to becoming INFORMED medication consumers, here are some helpful hints:
Note: some of these hints were posted on a CNN article written by Elizabeth Cohen with quotes from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (Hedy Cohen) University of California-San Diego (Dr. David Phillips) and the American Pharmacist Association (APhA Mitch Rothholz) http://body.aol.com/news/health/article/_a/dont-be-a-victim-of-pharmacy-errors/20071026123509990001
Take some responsibility for your own medications. Know what you are taking and why. Know what the tablets, capsules look like that you are taking. If the tablets / capsules in the new refill you just received does not look the same, ASK!!!!! Do everything you can to make sure that the drugs inside the bottle are the ones that are supposed to be there.
At pharmacies across America, the beginning of the month is extremely busy. The reason? Medicare entitlements renew at the beginning of the month. Social security checks are received at the beginning of the month. Dr. Phillips' research indicated that pharmacy errors increase by 25% above normal the first few days of the month. Try to schedule your refills for the middle or end of the month.
Don't wait until the last minute to get your refills. Plan Ahead.
When the Dr. writes you a new prescription, ask him/her what the drug is for. What is the name of the drug, the strength. Make sure the writing on the prescription is LEGIBLE!. Many pharmacy errors occur because the pharmacist mis-reads the prescription. The referenced AOL article talks about a lawsuit that was filed because a patient was given Matulane instead of Materna. You may be able to imagine how those two drugs could be mis-read having seen some of the chicken scratch that is out there. (Chickens, Please don't take offense and send me some threatening emails)
It's curious to realize that many people will research and read on the latest wines, cheeses and other food items and can quote the latest "Wine Spectator" score on that vintage of 2005 Merlot. However, they will not take the time and energy to know about the medication they are taking to control their diabetes.
Since you are reading this article, I'll try to help educate you on drug items of interest.
Be vigilant,
Dr. Paul
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