Video on Tips for Taking Medicines Safely

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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.

• http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/checkmeds.htm (PDF File, 1 MB) PDF Help.

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.

Watch Video

You may watch the Web program by opening it on your computer. Note the System Requirements below.

• Check Your Meds: Video, 5 minutes (Transcript).

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

• Your Medicines: Play It Safe
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/safemeds/safemeds.htm.
• Five Steps to Safer Health Care
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/5steps.htm.
• 20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/20tips.htm.
• 20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors in Children
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/20tipkid.htm.
• Quick Tips—When Getting a Prescription
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/quicktips/tipprescrip.htm.
• Quick Tips—When Getting Medical Tests
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/quicktips/tiptests.htm.
• Quick Tips—When Talking With Your Doctor
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/quicktips/doctalk.htm.
• Guide to Health Care Quality: How to Know It When You See It
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/guidetoq/.
• AHRQ Podcast on Health Care Quality (Audio, 10 minutes; Transcript).
• Next Steps After Your Diagnosis: Finding Information and Support
  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/diaginfo.htm.
  • Watch Video.

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

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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

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