Keeping an Up-to-Date List of Medicines and Supplements

“What are you taking at the moment?” It sounds like an easy question until you try to answer it from memory: the name on the box, the strength, the eye drops, the vitamin you started in winter. A written list answers it in seconds, for you and for anyone who has to look after you.

Why a list helps

Healthify, a New Zealand health information service run by a charitable trust, describes the purpose simply. A medicines list helps you and your healthcare team keep track of what you take and lowers the risk of mistakes. It reminds you or a carer how and when to take each item, makes a medicines review easier, and gives important information in an emergency.

The World Health Organization (WHO) makes a similar point in its “5 Moments for Medication Safety”, a tool designed to be used together with health professionals but kept by patients, families or carers. Its questions for the moment of adding a medicine include “Have I told my health professional about the medications I am already taking?” and “Can this medication interact with my other medications?” A list lets you answer the first properly, which lets a professional answer the second.

What belongs on it

More than most people expect. Healthify’s guidance covers:

• all prescribed medicines, including creams, inhalers, eye drops and patches;
• medicines bought over the counter;
• vitamins, supplements and herbal or traditional remedies;
• things you take only when needed, such as pain relief or indigestion remedies;
• any allergies, side effects or sensitivities you have had.

Why supplements are on the list

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains that a dietary supplement can change how the body absorbs, breaks down or gets rid of a medicine, which can make the medicine act more strongly or more weakly than intended. It also reminds readers that “natural” does not always mean safe. For that reason the FDA advises telling your health professionals about every supplement and medicine you take. The NHS in England likewise asks people to bring a list of medicines that includes vitamins and supplements to appointments.

This is not a judgement on any product. Whether a particular combination matters is a question for a pharmacist or doctor, and they can only answer it if the supplement is written down.

A template to copy

Healthify suggests recording, for each item, the name as it appears on the label, the dose, how often you take it and what it is for. The FDA adds how many times a day. A four-column table covers this.

The rows above are placeholders, not suggestions. Copy the names from the packaging letter for letter. Many medicines have both a brand name and a name for the active ingredient, and both are useful.

Underneath the table, add a short block:

• Allergies and bad reactions: what, and what happened.
• Recently stopped: what, when and why. Cross items out instead of deleting them for a few months, so the history stays visible.
• My pharmacy and my clinic: names and phone numbers.
• Date of last update.

Keeping it current

A list that is out of date can mislead. Healthify advises updating it whenever something changes: starting or stopping a medicine, or a change in dose. It notes that changes are especially common after a stay in hospital, and that visits to specialists or hospital clinics can alter what you take as well.

Three habits keep the list honest:

1. Change the list on the day the change happens, and change the date at the bottom.
2. Check it against the boxes in your cupboard every few months.
3. Ask a pharmacist or doctor to look over it from time to time. Among the WHO questions for reviewing your medicines are “Am I taking any medications I no longer need?” and “How often should my medications be reviewed?” These are questions to put to a professional. The list is not a tool for making changes on your own.

Where to keep it and who should see it

Healthify recommends keeping the list somewhere easy to find, particularly in an emergency, and taking it to every appointment, pharmacy visit and hospital visit. A clear photo on your phone is a handy backup. The FDA suggests bringing the list to every medical appointment and mentions that some people put all their bottles and boxes in one bag and bring that along too.

Tell someone close to you where the list is. It is also the easiest way to complete the “what I take” line when you prepare for a medical appointment.

Paper, phone or an official record

Any format works if you actually keep it up. Paper needs no battery and can be handed across a desk. A note on your phone is always with you. Some countries and health systems provide their own forms or apps: Luxembourg’s health portal links to a downloadable medication plan, for example, and Healthify offers a printable list for New Zealand. These tools are national, so look for what your own health service or pharmacy provides.

An official electronic record may not show what you buy yourself. That is one more reason to keep your own list, with the over-the-counter products and supplements on it.

If you are unsure whether to take something, or you notice a possible side effect, speak to a pharmacist or doctor before changing anything yourself. If a test or new treatment is being discussed, the list also helps with the questions worth asking.