Take As Directed

Your Prescription for Safe Health Care in Canada

,

• Publisher: Ecw Press Digital
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781550229523
• eBook ISBN:
  9781554903702
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: General Health

Take As Directed gives Canadians a much-needed guidebook to safely navigate our encounters with health-care providers and optimize the management of our own health. In recent years, evidence indicating that our health-care system can be made safer has emerged. Here, a family physician and a pharmacy professor discuss the role each of us can play in achieving the best and safest possible health outcome for ourselves and our families. In clear and engaging language, Take As Directed walks the reader through the call to the family doctor's receptionist, the examination room encounter, the pharmacy counter, a visit to the emergency department, and a stay on the hospital ward, and outlines common pitfalls in these encounters. Health-care consumers will learn how to provide critical information to their caregivers and know what information they must obtain from them. Since many adverse health outcomes are related to the use of medications, readers will learn how to safely and effectively use their prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs.

Take As Directed is the first and definitive source book to:

• offer down-to-earth advice on how Canadians can obtain good health care, even in a "sick" system.
• outline communication styles of health-care providers and offer tried-and-true tips and tricks on dealing with various "bedside manners."
• offer guidance on optimizing the use of medications at home and reducing the chances of experiencing an adverse drug event, one of the commonest reasons for visits to Canadian emergency departments.
• identify trustworthy sources of health and medication information on the web.

All health-care consumers will benefit from the sage voices of the authors, two of Canada's most respected health-care professionals.

NOTES

Chapter 1

1. Baker G.R., Norton P.G., Flintoft V. et al. 2004. “The Canadian Adverse Events Study: The Incidence of Adverse Events Among Hospital Patients in Canada.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 170:1678–86.

2. Reason J. 2000. “Human Error: Models and Management.” British Medical Journal 320:768–70. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.768.

3. Cadieux G., Tamblyn R., Dauphinee D., Libman M. 2007. “Predictors of Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing Among Primary Care Physicians.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 177:877–883.

Chapter 2

4. Davies J.M., Hebert P., Hoffman C. 2003. Canadian Patient Safety Dictionary. Ottawa, ON: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Available from: http://rcpsc.medical.org/publications/PatientSafetyDictionary_e.pdf.

5. MacKinnon N.J., U D., Koczmara C. 2008. “Medication Incidents Involving Heparin in Canada: ‘Flushing’ Out the Problem.” Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy 61(5):348–50.

6. Baker G.R., Jeffs L., Law M., Norton P.G. 2007. “Improving the Safety and Quality of Health Care in Canada.” In MacKinnon N.J., ed., Safe and Effective: The Eight Essential Elements of an Optimal Medication-Use System. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Pharmacists Association.

7. Baker G.R., Norton P.G., Flintoft V. et al. 2004. “The Canadian Adverse Events Study: The Incidence of Adverse Events Among Hospital Patients in Canada.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 170:1678–86.

8. Baker G.R., Jeffs L., Law M., Norton P.G. 2007. “Improving the Safety and Quality of Health Care in Canada.” In MacKinnon N.J., ed., Safe and Effective: The Eight Essential Elements of an Optimal Medication-Use System. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Pharmacists Association.

9. Forster A.J., Clark H.D., Menard A. et al. 2004. “Adverse Events Among Medical Patients After Discharge from Hospital.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 170:345–49.

10. Nickerson A., MacKinnon N.J., Roberts N., Saulnier L. 2005. “Drug-Therapy Problems, Inconsistencies and Omissions Identified During a Medication Reconciliation and Seamless Care Service.” Healthcare Quarterly 8:65–72.

11. Schoen C., Osborn R., Doty M.M. et al. 2007. “Toward Higher-Performance Health Systems: Adult’s Health Care Experiences in Seven Countries.” Health Affairs 26(6):w717–w734.

12. MacKinnon N.J. 2008. “Could 7 Million Australians and Canadians Be Wrong? A Status Report on Medication-Use Safety in Australia and Canada” (editorial). Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research 38(1):5–6.

13. Schoen C. et al. 2007.

14. Canadian Institute for Health Information. 2006. Health Care in Canada Survey, 2006. Ottawa, ON: CIHI.

15. O’Hagan J., MacKinnon N.J., Persaud D., Etchegary H. 2009. “Self-Reported Medical Errors in Seven Countries: Implications for Canada.” Healthcare Quarterly 12 (Patient Safety Papers):55–61.

16. Ibid.

17. Scobie A.C., MacKinnon N.J., Higgins S.D., Etchegary H., Church R. 2009. “The Medical Home in Canada: Patient Perceptions of Quality and Safety.” Healthcare Management FORUM 22(1):47–51.

18. MacKinnon N.J., Ip I. 2009. “The National Pharmaceuticals Strategy: Rest in Peace, Revive or Renew?” Canadian Medical Association Journal 180(8):801–3.

19. Canadian Institute for Health Information. 2010. “Drug Expenditure In Canada, 1985 to 2009.” Ottawa, ON: CIHI.

20. Morgan S., Raymond C., Mooney D., Martin D. 2008. The Canadian Rx Atlas, 2nd ed. Vancouver, B.C.: University of British Columbia.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Morrison A., MacKinnon N.J., Hartnell N.R., McCaffrey K.J. 2008. “Impact of Drug Plan Management Policies in Canada: A Systematic Review.” Canadian Pharmacists Journal 141(6):332–338.

25. Morgan S. et al. 2008.

26. “Politicians, Bureaucrats Enjoy Full Coverage of Drugs Not Covered in Public Plans.” Available at www.50plus.com/Health/BrowseAllArticles/index.cfm?documentID=16760 and www.carp.ca/display.cfm?CabinetID=263&LibraryID=70&cityID=7&documentID=2244; Galloway G. January 23, 2007. “MPs’ Drug Plan Beats Coverage for Elderly, Poor.” Globe and Mail.

27. MacKinnon N.J., ed. 2007. Safe and Effective: The Eight Essential Elements of an Optimal Medication-Use System. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Pharmacists As...

Table of contents

• Cover
• FOREWORD
• PAUL’S PERIL
• HEALTH-CARE SAFETY
• RUBBER-GLOVED REQUIEM
• FIRST, DO NO HARM
• THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
• A PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME
• EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED
• HOSPITALS
• HOME SWEET HOME
• DEMYSTIFYING DRUG AND HEALTH-CARE INFORMATION
• PRESCRIBING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR HEALTH CARE
• NOTES
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• About the Authors
• Praise for Take as Directed