This video Web program features information from AHRQ to help consumers take medicines safely. It's based on the latest evidence-based information from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and was produced with Healthology.
Accessibility Notice: The file format for the video is not resident on a Federal Government Web site and may not comply with the requirements for Federal information resources under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
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There were nearly a quarter of a million preventable medication errors in 2004, according to the latest available figures from the U.S. Pharmacopeia. Such errors include taking the wrong medicine, the wrong dose, or a medicine that causes an adverse interaction with another medicine.
The Web program features information from AHRQ to help consumers take medicines safely, and is based on Check Your Medicines: Tips for Taking Medicines Safely.
Tips include:
- Bring a list or a bag with all your medicines when you go to your doctor's office, the pharmacy, or the hospital.
- Ask questions about your medicines.
- Make sure your medicine is what the doctor ordered.
- Ask how to use the medicine correctly.
- Ask about possible side effects.
The following experts are featured:
- Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., Director of AHRQ.
- Christine Kovner, R.N., Ph.D., Professor at the College of Nursing, New York University.
- Gregg
S. Meyer, M.D., M.Sc., Medical Director, Massachusetts General Physician Organization.
- David Bates, M.D., Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital.
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You may watch the Web program by opening it on your
computer. Note the System Requirements below.
System Requirements
The following table summarizes the minimum hardware
and software requirements for viewing the video on a PC or Mac®.
Processor: 667 MHz Intel® Pentium® III processor or
equivalent
Memory (RAM): 128 MB of RAM
Screen Resolution: 800 x 600
Color: 16-bit
Modem: 56.6 Kbps modem
Sound Card: 16-bit sound card and speakers
Browser: Internet Explorer 5.5 or Netscape Communicator® 7.0,
Firefox™*, Safari™.
Javascript™ should be enabled in the browser.
Digital Media Player: Windows Media® player 6.4* or RealPlayer® 10
(Note: Windows Media® player 8 is not a working player.)
Operating Systems: Windows® XP, Windows® 2000, Windows® 98, Windows
NT® 4.0, Mac® OS X
Note: The video will play with Windows Media® Player
9 or 10. However, there may be a problem if you use these
players with a Firefox™ browser.
More Consumer Resources From AHRQ
All online consumer materials from AHRQ are at: http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/. Consumer materials in Spanish are
available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/espanoix.htm.
Current as of March 2007
Internet Citation:
Video on Tips for Taking Medicines Safely. March 2007. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/chkmedvid.htm