One thing I really worry about with the general public is their knowledge of what we need to know about you.
Allergies: In the pharmacy, I SUPER SUPER SUPER need to know if you're allergic to any medications. Please, if you're going to bounce from pharmacy to pharmacy, please retain a list of your allergies and health conditions in your wallet that you can hand to the tech when you register up.
Insurance: Did you change insurances? Did you lose your last card? Is your insurance the type that changes your member number when you get a new card?
Health Conditions: Do you have diabetes, high blood pressure, are you pregnant? If you go to a doctor who is unaware of your allergy or health condition, and he writes a script that may complicate your condition, our computers CAN catch this. That's a reason to only go to one doctor or one pharmacy--don't mix it up with both. Please let at least your pharmacy know about this. Your new cardiologist might not be aware that the medicine she's writing may interact with something you take from your general practicioner. Someone needs to know it all, so they can catch possible dangerous interactions. Ideally, your doctors are aware of what each of them is prescribing you and what sort of conditions you're dealing with (even if it's not in their area of specialty).
The truth is, when you're really sick, you may not take the time to write it all down. And unless you're willing to tote all your recent bottles around with you, it can be hard to remember what all you're putting in your body. Even vitamins can interfere with other medications. Please stick with the same pharmacy. We'll keep track with you.
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