Most of us visit our doctor, get the prescriptions that we need, have those prescriptions filled, and immediately start taking the medication - without giving it a second glance or a second thought. This is certainly one way to die. While pharmacists are typically very good at what they do, and very careful, they are still human and they do make mistakes that could be fatal to you. Even doctors make mistakes.

When you are at your doctor’s office, ask him what he is prescribing you. Ask the name of the medication, the dosage that he is recommending, how often you should take the medication, how many he is prescribing, how many refills the medicine has, and any other questions you may have regarding the medication. When he hands you the prescription, stop and read it - before he leaves the room. Make sure that the prescription says what he said to you. If you aren’t sure, ask him, and make him stop to look at what he has written. Don’t feel bad about ‘wasting’ his time…it is time that you are paying dearly for.

Now that you are certain that the doctor prescribed what he meant to prescribe to you, you are ready to visit your pharmacist. It is always a good idea to use the same pharmacy. While chain pharmacies may be cheaper, home town, privately owned pharmacies are often better, although more expensive. The pharmacist will know more about you, and this is important.

Have your prescription filled, and when you pick it up, ask the pharmacist about how this medication will react with other medication that you take, including over-the-counter medications. Take the prescription out of the bag! Read the label. Open the bottle and look at the pills. Did you get the right medication? Is it the right dosage? Go home and look up the pill online. The drug maker’s site is the best resource for this, because they will have pictures of the individual dosages of that medication, and you can compare what you have with what it is supposed to look like. This is true even if you have the generic form of the drug - look at the generic manufacturer’s site.

Remember that you are also human. If you take numerous medications, you can easily get them mixed up, and this can be dangerous. You need a foolproof system for keeping all of your medications straight, and for taking the proper medication, at the proper time, in the proper amount. Double check everything before you put medication in your mouth, your eyes, your ears, or your nose to ensure that you have the right medication, in the right amount, at the right time.

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