This document answers pharmacist related questions about medications. Topics cover medicines storage, expiration date on prescription medication, prescription medicine dosage, and more.
Review Date: February 07, 2011
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Health fraud scams can do more than waste your money. They can cause serious injury or even death. Follow these simple tips to protect yourself against fraudulent health products.
Review Date: March 04, 2013
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The three main types of drug interactions include drugs with food and beverages, drugs with dietary supplements, and drugs with other drugs. This document provides tips on how to avoid harmful drug interactions. Also available in video.
Review Date: March 13, 2013
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Prescription drug advertisements can provide useful information for consumers to work with their health care providers to make wise decisions about treatment. Learn about correct and incorrect versions of different types of drug ads.
Review Date: March 15, 2013
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA BeSafeRx is a national campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of buying prescription medicines from fake online pharmacies.This site offers tips on identifying these pharmacies, as well as resources for finding safe and reliable online pharmacies.
Review Date: September 28, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
If you have questions or concerns about your experience at a pharmacy or with a pharmacist, contact your state board of pharmacy for assistance. Contact information for each board is available in the Boards of Pharmacy section of this Web site.
Review Date: November 05, 2012
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
While medications can help keep you healthy, they also can cause serious problems when used incorrectly. A large percentage of adults are taking too many medications, not taking their medications properly, or both. Discover how your local pharmacists can help you take your medications safely.
Review Date: January 27, 2012
Institute for Safe Medication Practices
The growth of the Internet has made it possible to compare prices and buy products without ever leaving home. But when it comes to buying medicine online, it is important to be very careful.
Review Date: March 15, 2013
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
For older adults and people with disabilities, medications and herbal remedies/alternative medicine can be a double-edged sword. When not taken correctly, medications can have devastating consequences.
Review Date: February 15, 2013
Family Caregiver Alliance
Learn how to take pain medications, such as Acetaminophen and narcotics, safely and effectively. If you have questions about side effects or about how much medicine to take, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Review Date: February 13, 2013
American Academy of Family Physicians
Consumer Reports Health Best Buy Drugs™ is a public education project of Consumers Union. It will help you talk to your doctor about prescription drugs, and find the most effective and safe drugs that also give you the best value for your health care dollar.
Review Date: March 15, 2013
Consumers Union
DailyMed provides high quality information about marketed drugs. Search for and download easy-to-read FDA package inserts to learn more about your medications.
Review Date: August 27, 2010
NIH National Library of Medicine - NLM
If you take several different medicines, see more than one doctor, or have certain health conditions, you and your doctors need to be aware of all the medicines you take.
Review Date: October 12, 2011
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
If your medicine has expired, it may not provide the treatment you need. This FDA video explains how expiration dates help determine if medicine is safe to use and will work as intended.
Review Date: June 29, 2011
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
A generic drug is a copy of a brand name drug. Generic drugs use the same substances and work the same way in the body as brand name drugs. The FDA requires that both generic and brand name drugs be safe and effective.
Review Date: December 20, 2012
FDA Office of Women’s Health
Grapefruit juice can be part of a healthful diet but it isn’t good for you when it affects the way your medicines work.
Review Date: December 04, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
You’ve probably seen this warning on medicines you’ve taken. The danger is real. Mixing alcohol with certain medications can cause nausea and vomiting, fainting, loss of coordination, and other physical, and potentially life-threatening, problems.
Review Date: February 11, 2013
NIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - NIAAA
Is your medicine cabinet filled with expired drugs or medications you no longer use? Use these methods to safely dispose of them.
Review Date: March 17, 2011
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This video provides parents with tips on safe dosing, including reading the drug facts label, choosing medications that only treat a child’s specific symptoms and not giving medications for longer or more often than recommended.
Review Date: October 16, 2012
Consumer Healthcare Products Association
If your child is taking more than one medication at the same time, there could be dangerous health consequences if those medicines have the same active ingredient. Find out why it is necessary to check the list of active ingredients and consult with your health provider or pharmacist.
Review Date: March 12, 2013
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA offers information about food, drug, and product safety in many useful formats, including videos, photo slideshows, podcasts and audio.
Review Date: December 18, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Anytime a person is taking five or more medications, the chances that he or she will experience a harmful drug interaction are very high. Learn how you can lessen the chance of a harmful drug interaction.
Review Date: June 27, 2012
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
“My Medicine List™” can help you keep track of everything you take to keep you healthy, including pills, vitamins, and herbs. Having a list of all your medicines in one place also helps your doctor, pharmacist, hospital, or other healthcare workers take better care of you.
Review Date: February 07, 2011
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was established to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines, stabilize vaccine costs, and establish and maintain an accessible and efficient forum for individuals found to be injured by certain vaccines.
Review Date: January 31, 2013
Healthcare Systems Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration
If you are taking drugs known as bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis, learn about a possible risk of a rare type of thigh bone (femoral) fracture issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Review Date: October 06, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This brief video provides pregnant and nursing mothers with tips on using over-the-counter medicines safely. The tips include advice on treating common ailments experienced during pregnancy, such as backaches, heartburn, nausea, colds and allergies.
Review Date: October 16, 2012
Consumer Healthcare Products Association
Find FDA alerts on food, drugs, animal health, biologics and medical devices and significant product actions over the last five years based on the extent of distribution and the degree of health risk.
Review Date: November 08, 2011
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Use the Safety Reporting Portal to submit complaints or concerns about FDA-regulated drugs, foods (including animal feed, pet food, and pet treats) and animal drugs, as well as adverse events occurring on human gene transfer trials.
Review Date: November 05, 2012
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Your pharmacist can help you learn how to use your prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines safely. Make sure you inform your pharmacist about all the prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, herbals, and other supplements you use.
Review Date: February 24, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration warns consumers that all over-the-counter pain relievers should be taken with care to avoid serious problems that can occur with misuse.
Review Date: May 27, 2011
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Prescription medicines are powerful and if they are not dispensed by a trustworthy provider there could be a number of harmful results. Here are 5 important points to consider when buying medicines online.
Review Date: November 06, 2012
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
This acetaminophen quiz is geared toward college students. Test your knowledge by completing the brief survey. Check true or false to see how much you know. Then see if you’ve answered correctly.
Review Date: May 01, 2012
National Council on Patient Information and Education
