A/Prof Sarah Hilmer: Keeping a medicines list – The most important consideration
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
A/Prof Sarah Hilmer
Main occupation: Clinical pharmacologist
Years in clinical practice at interview: 16
Qualifications: BScMed (Hons), MBBS (Hons), FRACP, PhD
Associate Professor Sarah Hilmer, clinical pharmacologist and geriatrician, points out that the most important thing about medicines lists is not the form they take, but that the information they contain is current.
Yes, look, we often have patients come in with medicines written down. It's very difficult to find a patient who has an accurate and up-to-date list, but patients do come in with lists and we do send people home with an accurate and up-to-date list, and a plan …
I don't think it's the actual medium that works well. I think it's about having accurate, up-to-date information. Some people, in fact, a lot of people have a little notebook with them, where they've got all their medicines crossed out and updated and that works for them. Some people have just their blister pack that they get from the pharmacist that they've got in their handbag all the time, so they know exactly what's been dispensed, but it's important to realise with that, that not everything can go in a blister pack. Medicines that are not tablets don't go in there and some medicines that have to be stored in the fridge can't go in there, so it's not absolutely complete.
In the high-tech age, people will sometimes walk around with a little computerised number on a USB and, again, that's only as good as the information that's put into it and only as up to date as what’s put into it. So it's really about conscientiously putting any changes in and keeping it up to date, rather than the actual method used.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in
collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.