AARP reported in their June/July 2012 publication that medication errors are rising.

          they suggested:

       1) Keep a list of medications you take--like Driver's license.

        2) Show it to Hospital admissions staff.

         3) Show it to the pharmacist at the pharmacy.

Reasons: a)  33% errors in medication at hospitals.           

              b)  25% higher medication errors at pharmacies in the first few days of a month compared to normal.

              I recommend highly that you carry a list and ALWAYS show it to the hospital admissions staff as well as your pharmacists--as many medications have interactions.

                We ask all our patients before doing a procedure--like Colonoscopy--what medicines they are taking.We stop some of them before the procedure.

             We as Interventional Gastroenterologists have to keep track of patients full diagnosis to minimize any risk.

               I remember several years ago,I was to do an interventional  procedure-ERCP on a 80 years old on Saturday night at the request of a surgeon.My nurse at the hospital informed me that the patient had a major Heart problem at 10.00PM-few minutes before -ERCP planned intervention.So I postponed the procedure to Monday.

              Another case: ER at a Univ.hospital told a patient that ERCP procedure was needed--cause of vommitting. The patient was admitted to Delnor Hospital on Saturday night--but I discovered she had an infection that was affecting the liver/kidney--cause of vommitting was not due to obstruction.So ERCP was cancelled and Infectious disease specialist was called in to take care of the patient immediately.