• Patient Engagement

5 Questions to Ask About Your Medications

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Patients are at high risk of fragmented care, adverse drug events, and medication errors during transitions of care. Ensuring safe medication transitions is complex. It requires patients to be an active partner in their health to ensure that they have the information they need to use their medications safely.

ISMP Canada, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Patients for Patient Safety Canada, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Society for Hospital Pharmacists have collaborated to develop a set of 5 questions to help patients and caregivers start a conversation about medications to improve communications with their health care provider.

It may be particularly helpful for patients to ask these questions at transitions of care. Examples include:

  • doctor’s appointment (e.g. family physician or specialist, dentist)
  • interaction with a community pharmacist
  • discharge from hospital to home
  • visit by home care services

Share a story of how the “5 questions to ask about your medications” have impacted you or take a photo of where you’ve seen it and send it to medrec@ismp-canada.org or using #5questionsaboutmeds tweet or post to Facebook.

The Council endorses the 5 Questions to Ask About Your Medications resource for patients. Click the image below to download the poster.

Patients are at high risk of fragmented care, adverse drug events, and medication errors during transitions of care. Ensuring safe medication transitions is complex. It requires patients to be an active partner in their health to ensure that they have the information they need to use their medications safely.

ISMP Canada, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Patients for Patient Safety Canada, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Society for Hospital Pharmacists have collaborated to develop a set of 5 questions to help patients and caregivers start a conversation about medications to improve communications with their health care provider.

It may be particularly helpful for patients to ask these questions at transitions of care. Examples include:

  • doctor’s appointment (e.g. family physician or specialist, dentist)
  • interaction with a community pharmacist
  • discharge from hospital to home
  • visit by home care services

Share a story of how the “5 questions to ask about your medications” have impacted you or take a photo of where you’ve seen it and send it to medrec@ismp-canada.org or using #5questionsaboutmeds tweet or post to Facebook.

The Council endorses the 5 Questions to Ask About Your Medications resource for patients.

5 Questions to Ask About Your Medications