People’s medicines are often changed during a stay in hospital. The changes sometimes cause confusion and lead to unintentional mistakes being made when they return home. Unfortunately, such mistakes can have serious consequences.

Nowadays, most people are not fully recovered when they leave hospital and they may have difficulty absorbing information. Even if they have been given comprehensive information about their new medicine regimen, some people will not remember the changes when they get home.

If they have been prescribed a new medicine, they may not remember whether to take the new medicine in addition to their previous medicines, or instead of one of their previous medicines. If they make the wrong choice, they may experience problems.

If they have been given a new brand of one of their medicines, they may not realise that it is just a different brand rather than a new medicine. If they take both it and the previous brand, they will be taking twice the dose. Medicine mistakes like these can be prevented. The hints below will help you avoid making similar mistakes when you return home after a stay in hospital.

While in hospital

• Make sure the hospital knows about all the medicines you are taking, including any over-the-counter and alternative medicines bought at supermarkets and health food shops. When you go into hospital, take all your medicines with you. If you can't take them with you, make sure you give the hospital doctor who admits you a complete list of your medicines.
• If you have had an allergic or unexpected reaction to a medicine in the past, tell the hospital doctor about it.
• Well before you are discharged from hospital, ask the doctor about the medicines you will need when you return home. In some hospitals, a pharmacist can prepare a list of your medicines and talk to you about them before you leave. But, don’t wait until you are about to leave. Get the information well beforehand — a doctor or pharmacist may not be available at the time of your discharge.
• If possible, arrange for someone to be with you during the conversation with the hospital doctor about your medicines, particularly if they will be caring for you on your return home. They can be your 'ears', because you will probably not remember all the details of the conversation.

When being discharged

• Find out if any changes have been made to your medicines. Most importantly, ask if you should continue taking all your previous medicines.
• Ask for a printout of all the medicines you should be taking at home and the instructions for taking them. Also, ask for the Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflets for the medicines — they may be helpful to refer to later.
• Ask where you should go to get further supplies of your medicines, because you will usually be given only a limited supply of medicines or a prescription when discharged.
• Ask who you should contact if you have any questions or problems with your medicines when you leave hospital.
  

While in hospital, don’t be afraid to ask any questions you may have about your medicines so you know how to manage them when you return home. If you need an interpreter to get that information, ask for one. The hospital staff may be busy, but you have a right to be given the information. It could save you and the hospital a lot of trouble later!

Further information

So, you’re going into hospital
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has published a leaflet So, you’re going into hospital: What you need to know about your medicines that contains advice about managing medicines before, during and after a hospital stay. It can be obtained from the department by ringing 1300 551 918 or download a copy.

Discharge planning
The Health Consumers Council of WA website has a page on discharge planning in general that includes a list of questions you can ask when being discharged from hospital. For more information visit www.hconc.org.au.

Medimate
The Medimate booklet has been produced by the National Prescribing Service to help you find, understand and use information about medicines. Download or order a free copy here.