Importance of Taking Medications with You During Doctor's Visit!

Introduction:

Carrying all the prescribed and non-prescribed medications during the visit to a doctor for a follow-up or a fresh consultation is important because it helps the doctor of any specialty to understand the patient's condition well, know about their existing underlying medical conditions, also avoid prescribing them the same medications, or those drugs that can have a drug interaction with the current medication. The article talks about the importance of taking all the medications to the doctor during a consultation and also why one should know the medicines they are taking.

What Is the Importance of Taking All the Medications While Visiting a Doctor?

Carrying all the medications and medical records to a doctor during a consultation is of utmost importance. Some of the key reasons are as follows:

• The doctor can check the patient's medical records before making any diagnosis and prescribing any treatment during an appointment. This would help the consultant know about the patient's existing medical condition and any allergic reactions to any drug or its ingredient, and also save valuable time for both the patient and the doctor.

• A doctor can also make an informed decision about the patient's care by having all the details about medical records, laboratory investigations, and medications readily available. This further helps reduce medical errors, and the doctors do not end up prescribing the same drug and drug dosage or any medicine that is contraindicated to the patient in the past due to some drug allergy or interaction.

• The patient's previously diagnosed health status is beneficial to guide the doctor in establishing the best course of action to diagnose and manage the current health condition. It also helps them to understand the link between the underlying past medical condition and the currently prevailing disease or condition.

• Also, before surgery, one must take all their medications to the doctor during a visit because the doctor should know about the patient's medical history, including medication details. This would ensure that one is eligible for surgical procedures under anesthesia, if any medication needs to be stopped or continued, or if any drug dose needs to be modified.

• Also, knowing the medication that one is taking is important. A person should know their medication and why they have been prescribed a particular drug. This would help them to share the same information with any other doctor or new specialty they choose to visit anytime in life apart from their regular or family consultant or in case of an emergency.

What Is the Significance of a Patient’s Medication Records?

• The patient’s medication records are of great importance. Any patient suffering from multiple health issues, such as diabetes (high blood glucose), hypertension (elevated blood pressure), hyperlipidemia (high lipid levels), chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease (disease or damage of the major blood vessels of the heart), orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure while standing up from a lying or sitting position), and some dizziness, who wants to consult a new specialist for all their concerns would know about the past and present medical health records of a person before making any diagnoses and prescribing medication or dosage.

• Secondly, if a patient sees another specialist who manages diabetes and addresses hypertension and hyperlipidemia in addition to what neurologists, cardiologists, and nephrologists do. Also, the super specialty consultants modify the patients' medications or doses, which can sometimes be very confusing for the patient. Therefore, it would be a very healthy practice to review other medications or prescriptions, and an even better practice would be to talk to the other consultant about so-and-so medication or dose changes. However, this is seldom done in clinical practice. As a result, the patient gets prescribed the same drugs or preparations for their already existing conditions and takes countless medications in addition to over-the-counter supplements, such as omega-3, flax seed, vitamin E, and vitamin C.

Why Should One Know About the Medications They Are Taking?

• Various drug interactions can have adverse effects on a patient and may lead to some fatal complications. Therefore, one must know about the medications taken by them and the reason why the drug has been prescribed to them. Additionally, one must ensure that they inform the doctor about their past and present medical history and the medications they are taking to avoid such instances of adverse drug effects. Also, one must contact the healthcare provider immediately if any such event happens, to minimize the risk of further complications.

• Some of the common adverse drug reactions can occur, which may go away on their own. In case they become severe, one must consult the doctor. They include:

  1. Hives.

  2. Skin Rash.

  3. Shortness of breath (dyspnea).

  4. Fever.

  5. Swelling.

  6. Itching.

  7. Watery eyes.

  8. Runny nose.

  9. Wheezing

• Some of the severe adverse drug effects due to anaphylaxis or life-threatening allergic reactions also occur, such as

  1. Low blood pressure (hypotension).

  2. Vomiting.

  3. Diarrhea.

  4. Troubled breathing.

  5. Nausea.

  6. Abdominal cramps.

  7. Seizures.

  8. Lightheadedness or dizziness.

  9. Loss of consciousness.

  10. Fast or weak pulse.

Conclusion:

Thus, this is not only the concern about the cost of medications but also the poor compliance with medications, side effects, and drug interactions. So, an individual must carry all their medications with them when they meet their doctor and also know the indication as to why they are taking a particular prescribed or non-prescribed medication. This would help the doctor make the correct diagnosis, prescribe medications carefully, and also know about the patient's health status in detail to avoid fatal complications and medical errors and to ensure precise treatment.