How to Make a Complete Medication List

What belongs on a complete medication list

Health agencies such as the FDA, AHRQ and MedlinePlus recommend keeping a written list of every medicine you use and sharing it with every clinician who cares for you. A useful list is more than drug names. Aim to include:

1. Medicine name — brand and generic if both appear on the label
2. Dose — strength and how much you take (for example, 10 mg, 1 tablet)
3. When you take it — times of day, or “as needed”
4. What it is for — blood pressure, pain, sleep, and so on
5. Prescriber — the doctor or clinic that ordered it
6. Start date — when you began taking it, if you know
7. Special instructions — with food, do not crush, inhale, eye drops
8. Allergies and reactions — medicines and what happened

Also list vitamins, herbals, over-the-counter pain relievers and supplements. They can interact with prescriptions. Keep a copy in your wallet or phone case and another at home where family can find it.

How to build your list in a few minutes

1. Gather every bottle, blister pack, inhaler, dropper and supplement you use — including ones you take only now and then.
2. Open the free medication list template and type each item once. Use the label wording so doses stay accurate.
3. Add allergies, your doctor and your pharmacy at the top of the page.
4. Print a large-print copy, or download PDF, Word or Excel. Stick one on the fridge and put a wallet-sized copy with your ID.
5. Update the list whenever a medicine is added, stopped or the dose changes. Bring the newest copy to every appointment and hospital visit.

Fields that help in an emergency

If someone else has to speak for you, they need more than names and doses. Add your full name and date of birth, emergency contact, pharmacy phone number, and any “do not crush” or “take with food” notes. AHRQ’s medicine wallet card idea is the same principle in a smaller format: one clear page that travels with you.

Keep the list current

Out-of-date lists cause errors. Review yours after every clinic visit, hospital discharge or pharmacy refill. Cross out stopped medicines instead of leaving them on the page. If several people help you, agree who updates the master list so you do not end up with three conflicting versions.

For day-to-day tracking of what was actually taken, pair your list with a medication log or a daily schedule. The list shows what you should take; the log shows what you did take.