Health Professionals: Your Role in Women's Health

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Medication Safety

Home > Health Professionals > Medication Safety

• Drug Interactions
• Medication During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
• Prescribing References

The use of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs continues to rise in our country. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides advice on the safe use of medicines. They also have developed a national education campaign to provide advice on the safe use of OTC pain and fever reducers. Because many OTC medicines with different purposes and uses contain the same active ingredients, an unintentional overdose is possible.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) also is rising among the general public and among health care professionals. Women are the primary users of CAM. Herbal medicine and other supplements are one of the most common types of CAM used. Many people still don’t realize that supplements can react with the prescription and OTC medications they use. Part of medication safety is getting a list of everything your patient is using.

Additional Resources

Publications

1. Drug Interactions: What You Should Know -  Some patients may not know whether certain medications that are taken together can cause serious harm to their health. Health professionals can give this publication to patients to educate them about drug interactions and what they should know about the drugs that they are currently taking. (PDF file, 68 Kb)

2. Drugs, Supplements and Herbal Information - This National Library of Medicine web site provides health professionals and consumers with information on drugs, supplements, and herbal remedies.

3. CenterWatch Drug Directories (Copyright © Thomson Centerwatch) - The Food and Drug Administration approves drugs for patient use everyday. This site provides a directory for health professionals to find newly FDA-approved drug therapies, as well as clinical trials involving  potential drug therapies.

4. Fact Sheets on Medication Use During Pregnancy - During pregnancy, women frequently ask about medications and how they could potentially affect their growing babies. This site provides fact sheets on medications and their effects on pregnant women and the fetus. Health professionals can use this site and distribute the fact sheets to their pregnant patients.

Organizations

1. FDA

2. Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA, HHS

3. Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction

4. MedlinePlus.gov

5. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices

Content last updated December 1, 2008.