It is important for patients to understand their medications by reading the provided leaflet. The leaflet explains why the medication was prescribed, how to take it properly, potential side effects, drug interactions, and storage instructions. Understanding dosage times, adverse reactions, and duration of effects allows patients to take medications safely and get the full benefits. The references provide additional resources on medication safety.

1. Understanding Your
Medication(s)
By:
Linh Phan
Melanie Moore
Madhuri Patel
Nicholas
Nyambegera
Daniel Nessel

2. Why? How? Who? When? Where?
• Why: It is crucial to read the leaflet that the pharmacy
provides about our medication(s) so we can have a clear
understanding of what we are about to put into our body.
• How: The medication(s) is/are most effective when the
patient fully understands how to take the prescription(s) to
make sure it’s working and doing what it is supposed to be
doing and there are no surprises in doing so.
• Who: Understanding your medication(s) affect you (as the
patient) and with certain reactions to your medication(s), it
will not only affect you, but your loved ones as well.
• When: The time of the day and how much of the
medication(s) greatly matters in terms of dosage and
effectiveness.
• Where: The leaflet to each of your medication will provide
information to where will be the best place to store your
medication, whether it is at room temperature or the
refrigerator.

3. DRUG INTERACTIONS
• INTERACTION TYPES
1. Drug-drug interactions
2. Drug-food interactions
• IMPORTANCE
1. Polypharmacy

4. Side Effects of Your Drug
• Most medication guides list both common and serious side effects
• Ex: Common- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Serious- chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting
• Allow patient information for decision-making
• Warnings of:
• When to get emergency help
• When to discontinue use of medication
• When to inform physician

5. Adverse Drug Reaction
• Adverse Drug Reaction is a unwanted
and possibly dangerous effects that
could occur from a drug
• Toxicity is the most prevalent type of
adverse drug reaction.
• Why is it important to know about ADR
before taking the drug?

6. Duration of Drug
Duration of drug action depends on
several factors: the absolute amount of
drug given; the pharmaceutical
preparation; the reversibility of drug
action; the half-life of the drug; the
slope of the concentration-response
curve; the activity of metabolites, and
the influence of disease on drug
elimination. The duration of action of a
drug with more than one effect may
differ, depending on which effect is
followed.

7. Reference Page
• https://www.ismp.org/consumers/Read.asp
• http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/ucm163959.htm#know
• http://www.bemedwise.org/quiz_facts/facts.htm
• http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/UCM085729
• http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/UCM467750.pdf
• http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/clinical-
pharmacology/adverse-drug-reactions/adverse-drug-reactions
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.