Transcription:
Important Information on Medication Safety

Melanie Cole (Host): Medicines are used to treat diseases, manage conditions, and relieve symptoms. Medicines are generally safe when used as prescribed or as directed on the label, but there are risks in taking any medication. According to the CDC, each year in the United States, adverse drug events, harm resulting from medication use cause more than 1 million visits to the hospital emergency departments. My guest today is Kathy Hoopes. She’s the pharmacy manager at Stoughton Hospital. Welcome to the show, Kathy. So, how important is it getting to know your pharmacist so that you can ensure that you're taking your meds properly?

Kathy Hoopes, Pharmacy Manager (Guest): Well, getting to know your pharmacist, you know, is very easy to do. When you go in to pick up your prescriptions, you always have the opportunity to talk with your pharmacist, and, you know, they're right there, and so, it's important because they have a wealth of information. They know a lot about the medications that you're taking. They can tell you how to take the medication. They can let you know what side effects to look for when you're taking that medication; what you should do if you miss a dose. You know, should you take it? Should you wait until the next dose? They can also provide information on how to store your medication. Some medication should be stored at room temperature. Other medication should be stored in the refrigerator, and there's some medication that, you know, it's best to store it in the refrigerator, but up to a certain amount of time you can store it at room temperature. So, they will be able to tell you all of that information so that you can take your medication as safe and as effective as you possibly can, and they kind of see your overall drug picture. So, they will have information regarding all of the medications that you are taking.

Melanie: So, regarding all of the medications that people take, they hear about drug interactions, and they're concerned about them. What are drug interactions, and do you as a pharmacist say, ok, well, you're on this and this, you want to make sure to take them at this time and this time so they don’t interact?

Kathy: Correct. So, drug interaction basically is when you have two things when they go together, it's going to cause a problem. So, it might be actually two medications together. It might cause a reaction where one medication is not as effective; it does not work as well, so you're not getting the most benefit. Another type of interaction might be an interaction with a food. So, it might actually cause the drug to hang around in the body longer than it normally would, and you're getting a greater effect. Like with warfarin and, like, leafy green vegetables, if all of a sudden you increased your intake, it can affect how the warfarin works. So, it's important to, you know, understand these interactions. A lot of them can be avoided, whether it be separating, you know, certain medications out. Maybe it might include, you know, changing up your medications and picking another medication that basically does the same thing, but it works better with the medications that you're already on. So, kind of getting to know the whole picture will allow you and your pharmacist to work out the best way to take your medications.

Melanie: Kathy, one of the difficulties, especially in the elder population, is keeping track of their medications even if they're on opioids, pain medication, and they're on anti-inflammatories or blood pressure medication. Keeping track can be really a deal for anybody, much less the elderly. What do you recommend as a pharmacist to be able to keep track of your medications and which ones you're supposed to take during the day?

Kathy: Well, there’re a couple different things that you can do. You know, a really simple thing that a person can do is actually, you know, from any pharmacy, you know, Walmart, Walgreens, just from a store, you can get a weekly medication box that—it has the tabs for, you know, the days of the week. Some of them are a little more elaborate, and it even breaks your medications out to, you know, I take this one in the morning, noon, at dinnertime and bedtime, and it helps you to kind of organize your medications. For some people, you know, they just – they're a little confused by their medications, or they're a little overwhelmed. A lot of pharmacies offer services where they will actually, when they fill your medications, they actually will place them in these drug boxes so everything is labeled for you so that you know what medications you're taking, when you are taking them, and it's all laid out for you.
Another thing to do, you know, we try to really emphasize to our patients is to keep an updated medication list. So, when you go to your doctor, when you go into the pharmacy, you have this list so that everybody is kind of on the same page as to what you're taking, and how you're taking that medication. So, sometimes what happens is you might call your doctor, and you’re having an issue, and the doctor will say, hey, why don’t we try this? Let’s cut your medication back, and rather than taking it twice a day, let's take it once a day. So, if you can keep track of that on your medication list, then the next time you go in to see another physician, you can update them and say, well actually I'm only taking this once a day now. So, it's just trying to kind of keep a complete picture and asking for help from pharmacies if you are having difficulty keeping track of your medications.

Melanie: How do you get rid of expired medication, and is the expiration date – is that true? Is that a myth? Are these things – they don’t work after the expiration date? What’s going on with that, and how do you get rid of them?

Kathy: Well, first of all, with the expiration date, it's a tough thing because it's telling you, within that time, your medication is going to be safe and effective. When you go outside of that expiration date, the drug will start to become less effective. So, ideally if you do have medication that is expired, you will want to dispose of it. You know, especially things, you know, like eye drops. If you have an expired eye drop, you only have one set of eyes, so that’s something that you really don’t want to risk, you know, using something that is beyond its expiration date. If you find that you do have expired medications or you have medications that you're no longer using, the best thing to do would be to get rid of them. Get them out of the house so that they either don’t get mixed up with your medications that you're currently taking or that, you know, someone else, whether it be a small child, you know, in the house or comes to visit that they would get their hands on those medications, and there’re a couple of different ways that you can get rid of expired or medications that you’re no longer using. Probably the best way is to take advantage of med drop boxes. A lot of communities have permanent med drop boxes, or they will hold med drops throughout the year where you can go in and you can take expired medication, medication that you're no longer using, and it can be safely disposed of. If you're not able to get to one of these, we, you know, suggest that the best way to get rid of medication is to mix it with something that would render the medication no longer usable. So, maybe it’s mixing it up with old coffee grinds or cat litter and then disposing of it in the trash. We do try to steer people away from disposing of them down the sink or flushing them down the toilet to try to keep it out of the water supply, but ideally, the best way to dispose of it would be at a med drop box. Stoughton actually has a permanent med box that the community uses, and it's located outside of the police department, and you can, you know, bring your expired medications here, and it's just a – it's a permanent box that you open up, and you drop your medications in. We also offer a med box drop twice a year in the community, and the next one that we have coming up is October 28th from 9 to 11 am at the fire station in Stoughton, but the drop box at the police department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can bring your meds there anytime to drop them off.

Melanie: What if someone drops a pill on the floor and can’t find it?

Kathy: You know, ideally, if you drop something, you do want to do your best to find it because, you know, medication can be harmful to pets, to small children, or, you know, even to other individuals in the house if they were to take the medication. So, ideally, you know, you want to search for the area to find it. You know, if you're unable to find it, what you'd want to do is if you have, you know, family members coming over that have small children or that have pets, just to, you know, make them aware that, I mean, you know, a pill has dropped, you know; to maybe keep their eye out for it or to watch, you know, if they do have pets or animals that are coming to the house.

Melanie: So, what else is the community doing to keep people safe? You mentioned the med drop boxes. What else as far as awareness of medication safety?

Kathy: Well, you know, another program that we were involved in was the Good Drugs Gone Bad Program, which is just trying to bring awareness to the community that a lot of times, you know, we have prescription medication in our house, and you know, we view that medication as safe medication, and when we take it the way we're supposed to, you know, it is safe and effective. But what we’re finding is an alarming trend where people are starting to abuse prescription medications, and what we're finding is a lot of individuals will, you know, family members, will look for other family member’s medication whether it be – and especially the pain medications – and will, you know, take a few out of the bottle, you know, so that nobody will notice. And so it's just to bring awareness that especially with the elderly population, if you have family members coming to visit or teenagers, your grandchildren, to just be aware. You don’t want to assume that they're going to take your medication, but rather than make it an issue, just to store your medications where it's not easily accessible; they can’t get a hold of it because there is a rising trend where people are seeking out other people’s prescription medications.
Other things that the hospital do is we do supply, for patients, especially like with our home-health nurses, go in if they feel that medication safety is an issue – they're concerned that maybe family members are taking their medication. We provide free lock boxes for their medication, and we also have them in the hospital as well – that if a patient expresses that, you know, they're concerned how to store their medications to keep them safe – that we do have these free lock boxes for them.

Melanie: And, Kathy, who should you call if you have a question about potential poisoning?

Kathy: The best thing to do if you have any questions about whether, you know, yourself or someone that you know has taken too much of a medication, any questions that you have should be directed to the Poison Center hotline, and it's a 1-800 number. It’s 1-800-222-1222, and the best thing is to keep this number accessible. Probably the best place is just to hang it up on your refrigerator or near the phone so that you have it. You will call – it’s a national hotline, and it will direct you to your local poison control center, and they have a wealth of information, and they can provide information and then also direct you to what the next steps should be if there is a problem.

Melanie: And in summary, to wrap up, give us your best advice about medication safety and what you want people to ask their pharmacists when they pick up a new prescription.

Kathy: You know, I think the biggest thing about medication is to realize that medication can be very helpful, but we have to make sure that we listen to the information that’s out there so that we take it the best possible way that we can so that we remain safe and that it works the best for us, and I think the biggest thing that I would want people to know is utilize your pharmacist. We’re easily accessible. When you go into your pharmacy, you don’t have to make an appointment. You can call them on the phone. You can walk right up to the counter and talk to them, so take advantage of it because we do have a wealth of information for you, and we can help you to take your medication in the best possible way that you can.

Melanie: Thank you so much, Kathy, for being with us today. You're listening to Stoughton Hospital Health Talk, and for more information, you can go to stoughtonhospital.com. That's stoughtonhospital.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.