Medication Safety
Program Description
This patient safety unit provides information for physicians to heighten awareness of the integral role of medication reconciliation in the safe use of medications. The AMA's monograph, "The Physician's Role in Medication Reconciliation" provides a framework for physicians to understand their role and responsibilities in this often difficult process. To enhance communication and care coordination, the monograph offers general concepts and strategies, implementation steps, and case-based learning. Recognizing that patient engagement is essential to safe medication management and the reconciliation process, the monograph includes suggestions for involving patients and families in efforts to enhance medication safety including the AMA My Medications© patient medication card. A guide to completing the card is in the monograph. Hard copies of the card are available upon request.
AMA My Medications© patient medication card is available upon request. Please contact the Center for Patient Safety to learn more.
My Medications App Now Available
With My Medications your patients can store, carry and share their critical medical information (i.e., medications, allergies, emergency contacts, etc.) in one secure place.
My Medications is available for the Apple iPhone®, iPad® and iPod Touch® on the AMA iTunes store.
Questions or Problems Downloading Your App?
Email ama_apps_support@ama-assn.org for help.
AMA Medication Safety Tools for Patients
The AMA has developed a patient-friendly "Medication safety checklist" to help patients when making a complete list of their medications to share with their healthcare team and family members.
This family-centered tool offers easy tips to help sort prescription medication and other drugs that may be in the family medicine cabinet or around the house. Expired over-the-counter medications, unused prescription drugs, and certain supplements can make the family medicine cabinet a dangerous and confusing place. This tool aims to help families give their home a safety check-up and help them identify drugs that could be dangerous to toddlers and children or easily abused. The "Medication safety checklist" assists in deciding which medications, vitamins, drugs, and supplements to safely keep and which to safely throw away and, also, encourages families to check and clean their medicine cabinets regularly.
A new patient-resource, "Medication safety disposal guide" describes the importance of disposing of unwanted, unused or expired medicines in the home properly and safely to avoid harm to others and also provides information on safe and environmentally friendly removal.
