Prescription drug use in the U.S. has steadily been on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2007-2008, the number of Americans who had recently taken prescription drugs rose to 48 percent, a jump from 44 percent 10 years earlier. If you are part of this growing trend of prescription drug takers, it's important to learn as much as you can about your medication, like why you are taking it and what the potential side effects are—and pharmacists can help provide this vital information. Woman's Day spoke with three pharmacists to find out what patients need to keep in mind when it comes to prescription medication. From protecting your family from drug abuse to opting for generic brands, here are nine things your pharmacist wants you to know.
1. Pharmacists are medical experts.
While you may think pharmacists are more like technicians, they're actually far more qualified than that. "A lot of people think the level of competence ends at making sure you get the right drug in the right bottle," says Wendy Duncan, Pharm.D, dean of pharmacy at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. "That's an important part of what a pharmacist does, but they're also the most highly educated health professional in the area of medication. They know more than physicians about medications and doses, their side effects, the kind of forms they're in…everything." And this should be reassuring, adds Keith Hodges, Pharm.D, owner of Gloucester Pharmacy in Gloucester, Virginia, because your pharmacist is the last line of defense between you and your medication.
2. You're not asking enough questions.
Being educated about your medication and its possible side effects is crucial to keeping yourself safe. And unfortunately not enough people take the extra steps to educate themselves. "A lot of people feel embarrassed to ask questions, but health literacy is a really, really big problem in the United States," Dr. Duncan says. Dr. Hodges strongly agrees. "I can't tell you how many people come in and don't know what their medication is for. People need to know what they're taking. They should know all the medications they're taking, what they're used for, and their possible complications," he says. "Knowledge makes a healthier patient."
3. Follow your dosage instructions!
Admit it: You've been guilty of skipping one of your pills and just taking two the next time, or even stopping altogether once you're feeling better. Not only can this be dangerous to your health, but it's actually dangerous to us all. "Once people feel better, they stop taking the medication. But what ends up happening is they have a little antibiotic left around, and they might use it when they feel sick again. But antibiotics are very directed, so if it's for a specific bacterium it may not work. So you can develop resistance," says Dr. Duncan. "And over time, it means an antibiotic becomes ineffective so we have to find new entities and that takes a long time. Like MRSA [methicillin-resistant staph infection] right now; people die from that. And it's something people are shocked about because we've only had antibiotics around for a half a century. So if we're not careful, we may lose antibiotics and we'll end up in the same situation our great, great grandparents were in." If you have stopped taking your medications, or continually miss doses, be sure to contact your pharmacist or physician immediately to find out how to proceed.
4. Keep track of all your medications—especially if you’re a parent.
It's very common for patients to come in, claiming their prescriptions have been stolen, whether out of their medicine cabinet or out of their purse, Dr. Hodges says. Unfortunately, this is often related to recreational prescription drug use, which is on the rise. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 70 percent of people 12 and older who abuse prescription medicines say they get them from a friend or relative. "A lot of prescription medications on the street are coming from homes, from [family members] raiding [their relative’s] medicine cabinets," Dr. Hodges says. Dr. Duncan seconds that, saying parents should be diligent about keeping their medications away from their children. "Kids aren't stupid. They know that most of us like to keep medications around just in case. So if you've been on pain medications, you might keep what's left when the pain is gone. When those things accumulate kids know. They may even search your cabinet for medications you're currently taking. So hide them, and know how much you have and have not taken."
5. Practice proper disposal of your medications.
Whether you prematurely stopped taking your prescription or you received more than you needed, don't throw excess pills in the trash or flush them down the toilet. "Controlled drugs [like strong pain killers] cannot be taken back by your pharmacist, so contact the Drug Enforcement Agency or local law enforcement for their particular programs to dispose of those medications," Dr. Hodges says. "Drugs have been showing up in the water supply and ground water. There are different ways to handle different medications. So talk to your pharmacist about proper disposal."
6. Pay attention to where and how long you keep your medications.
Keeping those extra pills in the cabinet for another flare-up is a bad idea. "Everything has a limited life. Some drugs expire fairly quickly, some expire slowly," says Dr. Duncan. "Some medications over time develop toxic components, so then you might end up getting sick because you've taken an old medication." How you store prescription drugs is also important. "People leave them out on the kitchen counter or in the medicine cabinet in their bathroom, which is hot and humid and can compromise the integrity of the medication," Dr. Hodges says. "Ask the pharmacist about how to store medications properly."
7. Stick with your local pharmacist.
Pharmacists warn against buying prescriptions online, as well as picking them up at different locations. "Consolidate all your medications at one pharmacy and don't use multiple pharmacies," Dr. Hodges says. "There are people who use transfer coupons or play pharmacies back and forth to cut costs. But that can be very dangerous because there's an increased likelihood of drug interactions,” caused from taking multiple prescriptions that don’t work well together.
8. Consider generic drugs.
From our shoes to our choice of bread, most people generally prefer to go with well-known brands. But when it comes to medications, generic is just as good as brand-name drugs—and more affordable. "There's the belief that there is a qualitative difference. But the generics at the pharmacies are the equivalent chemical properties as label brands because pharmacists are only allowed to dispense certain-rated products that are comparable to the label products," says Sheela Andrews, Pharm.D, vice president of client management for Prescription Solutions, a pharmacy benefit manager. Brand-name drugs are patented when they first hit the market so the companies that invested in the research and development of the drug have exclusive rights to sell it. Then, after a set period of time, the patent expires and other companies can apply for the rights to manufacture a “generic” version of the drug that contains the same active ingredients, just under a different name. These companies are able to sell generic drugs at a less expensive price because they didn't invest as much money in the development of the drug and therefore have fewer overhead costs. "Oftentimes your pharmacist can talk to you about cost savings; a generic medication may be available that can work very well," Dr. Hodges says.
9. Don't be afraid to ask about over-the-counter drugs and vitamins.
Pharmacists aren’t only there to help you with your prescriptions. They can also help with any questions you have about over-the-counter medications and supplements. “They're very approachable with regards to over-the-counter drugs,” says Dr. Andrews. “Especially with more drugs going over-the-counter, there are more questions that need to be asked that people aren't asking.” Dr. Andrews even recommends talking to your pharmacist about vitamins, especially in regards to your prescriptions. “A lot of people take vitamins that interact with [prescription] drugs or even with over-the-counter drugs you might be taking. So pick up the bottle, walk over and ask the question.”
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