Where has your My Medicine List button been?

Who: Teresa W. Brown, RN, Case Manager, Pacific Medical Centers

Where:  “My button lives on the outer pocket of my backpack that I use commuting between Issaquah and Beacon Hill.  I ride both a suburban express and the #36 that travels up Jackson Avenue and down the length of Beacon Hill.  The first questions about my button were from a fellow rider on my suburban bus, who said that his wife had just been in the hospital and had come home with several medications.  I explained I was a nurse and gave him a little advice about seeing the doctor and asking lots of questions, and as I just happened to have a Pacific Medical Center medication card I gave it to him with encouragement to complete it.  Several weeks later when we shared a seat again he said they had taken my suggestions and things were going much better for them–and that he had a med list in his wallet as well.

“My most recent encounter was with a homeless person while waiting for my city bus.  He made a comment on the button and I asked him if he was on any medication.  As it turned out that as a veteran he receives his care at the VA and did have regular meds.  I asked if he had a list in his pocket, which he didn’t, but he was sure they did at his clinic.  I agreed that was most likely true but asked what would happen if he found himself in a different hospital and couldn’t tell the doctor what he took.  I didn’t have a blank list to give him but suggested he get one from his clinic and keep it with him.  I don’t know if he followed through, but he did acknowledge the possibility of finding himself at Harborview and a med list might be a good idea.”

Why I wear my button:  “You never know when you might have even the smallest impact on someone’s life or where that impact might occur.  With the button on my pack there is always the opportunity for someone to ask me a question.   In my professional and personal life I have seen lots of little medication mistakes and several really awful ones, and most all of them could have been avoided if there were an accurate med list available.  I believe that the ultimate responsibility for such a list lies with the individual or a caregiver, and the doctor.  I have talked with many in my office and have given out a fair number of blank med cards, I can’t fill them out for everyone but I can take that first step to educate anyone who will listen.”