Medication mistakes can be prevented. In spite of this, the number of drug-related blunders continues to soar, making them a major health risk in the United States. Increasingly large numbers of seniors accidentally get mixed up with their medications. They do not take them regularly or safely. The consequences of these inadvertent errors can be devastating.

Unintentional mistakes happen more frequently in the elderly who use more drug-related products than any other segment of society. For seniors, the consequences can be more serious. Side effects created by error can mimic other diseases such as dementia or Alz-heimer’s, complicating your physician’s ability to diagnose what is wrong.

Prescription medications are not the only culprit. Nonprescription items can wreak just as much havoc. Many products become unsafe if not used as directed. Combinations of different drug-related products can be treacherous. Seniors routinely ingest over-the-counter drugs in a carefree manner, treating them more like home remedies, rather than the potent drug they are.

Most of these mistakes are completely preventable. Good planning and care can keep you safe, and help prevent medication mistakes. Plan your medication use carefully, and do it monthly. Here are some guidelines to use to help you manage drug-related products.

Make a list of the prescriptions from your physicians and specialists. Include in this list all of your over-the-counter drugs, health food products, vitamins, supplements, alternative health products, physician’s samples, and home remedies. Don’t forget to add caffeine, alcohol and tobacco use to the list. Throw away anything you no longer use. Ask one of your physicians to oversee your prescription use, and coordinate prescriptions written by other physicians and specialists.

Find a pharmacist who can take the time to counsel you on your medication use. Be sure this is a professional you can call for help, and who knows all of the products you use. Purchase as many products as possible from the same pharmacy. Pharmacists can run checks on all of the medications you get from them, but they have no way to check products you purchased elsewhere.

Ask for a “pharmaceutical care assessment” from your pharmacist. This is a comprehensive assessment of your health status and medication use. Not all pharmacists can do this. Find one who does. Make this pharmacist your partner in your health care.