I loved this message in my Inbox this morning. A small rant from a dentist. 
And it’s a really important medication safety point for family health:
“I work as a general dentist. Why oh why do patients not know or care what meds they take?…. they attend the practice and the usual is say they are fit and healthy and only on one little tablet a day e.g. “it’s a little white one”.and seem surprised that i dont know what its called. And they also don’t seem to understand why we (dentists)are interested in their medical history. I get the feeling that they think I’m just a nosey parker. is there any way you could do an article on the importance of patients understanding what they are taking(what’s its for,what it’s called and how it works) and the reasons other health professionals might want to know a list of medication ?”
Dentists do need to know what medication you are on. So do the staff in the Emergency Department, the Local Injury Unit, the out-of-hours GP, antenatal clinics, and any public or private consultants you may see for any conditions. Your general health and medications helps health care professionals make the best decisions regarding treatment and prescribing.
Daily, hospital doctors are told things like “you know…the small red ones…I think it’s for cholesterol?” Or get this type of response:
Doctor: “Do you have any medical conditions?”
Patient: “No”
Doctor: “Do you take any regular medications?”
Patient: “Just the ones for me blood pressure.”
Doctor: “So you have high blood pressure?”
Patient: “No, not since I take the tablets.”
Alternatively, the older generation are often fond of handwriting tiny slips of paper with their tablets and keeping them in their wallet. Unfortunately, these slips of paper often contain a spelling error or error in dosage, which can impact safety.
What’s your best options for medication safety? Always bring an accurate list of current medications when attending for any medical or dental consultation or treatment:
1) Bring that blue and white sheet from the chemist that you get with your receipt with medications printed out. That one is handy and stores nicely in a handbag or pocket.
2) Double check with your GP that any referral letters for ED/consultants have a quick relevant medical history and list of all current medications and allergies.
3) If you or an older family member is on multiple medications, NEVER use plastic pill sorters. Many chemists offer blister packs, often for free. I highly recommend asking for this option. These reduce medication errors, and have the medications listed on the back. Bring in the blister pack!
4) Only one or two drugs? Take a picture of the labels and save it on your phone. Make sure in the picture that you can clearly read the entire drug name and full dosage.
5) Failing all else, in an emergency, the dreaded “bag of drugs” works better than nothing. Make sure you grab it on the way out the door to the emergency room. Hospital doctors in all specialties are skilled in unpacking the shopping bag full of prescription medications with the patient and going through it carefully.
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